Silver Lining
by AltUniverse
Summary: A/U Hayley Marshal does not want to work of her new boss, Klaus Mikaelsons but she had no other options. She has a secret that she is hiding from Klaus. A secret that brings Klaus and Hayley who had once crossed their path back to each other. Slow shift from human version to supernatural. Credit of story goes to a friend
1. Chapter 1 Introduction

Hayley Marshal does not want to work of her new boss, Klaus Mikaelsons but she had no other options. There is a secret in her life that she is hiding from him but she will not be able to hide it. The secret that will force Klaus and Hayley to see past their hate for each other. But it is not that easy when there is childhood sweetheart in the mix with whom he is engaged to be married in the coming summer. What will make Klaus want to accept Hayley in his life and what will make Hayley look past her hate for him to accept him in her life. Read to find out.

I hope you enjoy this one too...

I want to thank White Angels Wings for suggesting the idea. I really liked the plot. Thanks

I also want to Acknowledge misspsycho24 for proofreading it and giving me her input on some issues. Thank you...


	2. Chapter 2 Responsibilities & Obligations

**_A/N: so here it is. I hope you like it. It is going to be different from my other stories. _**

**_Synopsis: Hayley meets her boss for the first time after the demise of her beloved previous boss Mikael_**

* * *

><p>She closed her eyes and went to sleep.<p>

**flashback**

_She was walking towards the women restroom when someone grabbed her from behind and pushed her against him. She yelped but the voice got lost in the loud noise in the club. He pushed the bathroom door open, locked the door and dragged her towards a stall. _

_He pushed her against the wall of the stall as she said in a panicked voice "please let me go I…"_

_He slurred with a smirk making dimples appear on his cheeks at the same time pushing her again "I what? I have been watching you looking at me. Don't you want to have a taste of what you were staring at?"_

_She could smell expensive booze on him and his actions told her that he was really drunk. She looked at him in horror as he pulled his pant's zip down and grabbed her by her arms, pinned her against the wall, stared into her face and slurred "you have such pretty eyes" and sneaked his hand under her short skirt and ripped her panties off of her. _

_She whimpered "please no". _

_He said "no one says no to me love" and grabbed her pelvis._

_She could feel his fingers touching her pelvis making her gag and she pushed him but she realized that he was very strong and then he removed his hand and before she could do anything with one swift motion he entered her making her scream very loud. _

_As the scream erupted from her mouth, the pain shot through her body but he put his hand on her mouth and and started pounding in her ignoring her whimpers and tears. _

_She continued to push him with his hand but he was not budging and her hardness was amplifying and he hissed "you are so tight" and pushed in her again. She bit his hand hard making him hiss and she felt some satisfaction as she tasted his blood in her mouth but that was short lived as he picked up speed and didnt remove his hand from her mouth. He buried his face against her neck forcing her to smell the booze and the sweat and continued moving in her now losing control of himself and ramming into her so hard that her head was hitting the wall of the stall but he didnt care. _

_At last realizing it a lost cause, she stopped struggling and just stayed against the wall of the cubical with tears streaming down her cheek when she felt something and he stopped moving and said "ahh" and bit her hard on her shoulder making her scream. He then separated himself from her, stepped back and pulled the zipper up and stumbled out of the cubical without looking at her and she slid down on the floor and tried to salvage her torn panties but couldn't. At last she got up and walked out on her trembling legs and stood in front of the vanity mirror and stared at her bruised neck with teeth marks that had broken her skin and from which the blood was seeping out, tear stained face and disheveled hair when the door opened again and another man entered. _

_She turned towards him and said "Tyler!"_

_He walked to her hastily and asked "what happened? What are you doing in mens restroom?"_

_She hugged him and said now crying "I…" but couldn't finish the sentence. _

_Tyler hugged her tight and said "shh it is okay. Everything will be okay"._

_She kept on holding him and then she felt something strange and she realized it was the smell and it hit her a second too late that Tyler was drunk too. She felt his hand sneak under her skirt. She knew she was not wearing anything so she pushed him away but his other hand grabbed her ass and pushed her harder into him. Hayley screamed as his fingers fumbled against her opening. She felt him getting hard and she felt his lips on her neck. She whimpered "Tyler please don't. I beg you". _

_As soon as the words were out everything became still and he stepped back and said "Hayley! O god I am so sorry". _

_But she pushed him back from her and ran out. _

**end flashback**

She suddenly felt someone shaking her. She woke up with a scream as she heard Amy say "hey get up, you are having that nightmare again".

She laid on the bed staring at the ceiling now covered in sweat.

Amy said desperately throwing a towel at her "Hayley, why dont you forget about it?"

Hayley got out of the bed, wiped her face and realized that she was crying too and said bitterly "do you think I want to remember that? That terrible night. I was only 17 Amy. But Tyler! He was my friend how could he do this to me and after knowing what happened to me".

Amy stared at her as she moved around picking up her things to get ready for the office.

She then added "I have to get ready. What are you doing today?"

Amy said after some hesitation "I am meeting him later today for dinner around 7".

Hayley looked at her and asked "Tyler?"

Amy nodded without saying anything.

Hayley sighed and said "okay then. I will try to come back by 7. We are meeting our new boss today".

Amy said sympathetically "Oh yeah. I am so sorry for your loss. I know you loved Mikael".

Hayley said "yes he was a great man. His son is going to take over. I have not met him yet. Today is my first day and I cannot be late. Will you please…"

Amy said with a smile "of course".

Within fifteen minutes she was out in a dress pants and white collar dress shirt. She put on her pumps and stood in front of the small mirror in her room and hastily brushed her hair and put on a soft lip gloss. She put on her coat and pressed her shoulder to smooth it pausing just for a second and touched the place where those faded bite marks was still visible that reminded her every day of the terrible incidence of her life. She sighed and cursed herself for the millionth time as she remembered her stupidity in listening to Tyler and getting those fake id just to get into that club. If she had not done that, nothing like that would have happened. She shook her head and headed towards her room. She stopped and peaked in and said "good morning love".

She smiled and said excitedly "mommy"

Hayley walked to her and sat next to her and removed brown strands of hair from her forehead and sighed with a relief that it was cold. She looked into her blue eyes with a tinge of brown in them and said "I have to go early today. I am meeting my new boss. Amy is going to give you breakfast".

She pouted and scooted over and hugged her and said "No, stay with me".

Hayley sighed and said fingering her hair "listen day after tomorrow is Saturday. I will be home and we can have breakfast together…" and groaned as she started coughing immediately followed by a gag.

She kept her there patting her back and saying "it is okay sweetie. Mommy is here". As Hope separated from her she called Amy saying "Amy towel. Hope threw up".

Amy ran in and helped her clean her first when Amy said "you go change. It is already 8:20. Go I will change her".

Hayley looked at her daughter and cursed her job and responsibilities and said "Hope mommy is so sorry. I wish I can stay with you".

She ran to her room and looked at the clock and realized that she does not have time to take shower. She took off her shirt and then cleaned herself with a wet towel and hastily looked for an already ironed shirt in the closet and then took out one light blue coloured one which was passable and put it on and then a different coat and hoped that she was not smelling. She ran to Hope's room and saw Amy sitting on the bed changing her clothes. She walked to her, kissed her and left

She stopped her car out side the tall building with Mikaelsons written on top of it and walked in it and greeted the guard "good morning Jim".

He said with a smile "Good morning Ms Marshall".

She went to the elevator and pressed the button for her floor.

She reached her big cubical and took a sigh of relief and then looked towards the big office with glass walls and saw the empty chair and sighed and wondered _'how will she be able to handle this office without him'._

She startled as her colleague said to her "hey you have a mark on your coat?"

Hayley turned her head and said "where?"

She said "just a small wet mark over your shoulder. Looks like chocolate milk. Here" she handed her the Kleenex.

Hayley took it hastily cleaning it and said "thanks Janet".

They both whipped around as they heard a deep voice saying "so this is what we do in this office. Clean each others clothes?"

Hayley slowly stood up and stared at the blue eyes with shock and the image of him pushing her against the stall wall flashed through her mind along with the menacing expressions on his face that she could never get rid of from her mind. While those horrifying images were flashing through her mind, she felt something dripping on her backbone and realized that she was sweating. She slowly lowered her hand saying to herself "it cannot be him" whereas Janet smiled at him.

Hayley looked at the person standing next to him and looked away even though he tried to catch her eye as usual. She gulped as he said "Janet Smith, Niklaus Mikaelsons".

Janet said "good morning Mr. Mikalesons. It is good to finally meet you. I am so sorry for your loss".

Klaus held the hand Janet offered saying with a smile "call me Klaus and thank you".

Hayley looked at those dimples and felt as if someone threw cold water on her and she shook to her core remembering those dimples when he had smirked at her. She felt a nausea starting at the base of her throat and it took all her will power to push it down when he turned towards her.

Klaus turned his attention to the girl stand behind the desk gapping at him and said "and you are?" extending his hand to her now.

Hayley recovered from her initial shock and said "Hayley Marshall".

She hesitated for a moment and then grabbed the hand he had offered. She felt that wave of nausea traveling up again. She gulped and at the same time she felt him squeeze her hand hard and immediately pull it back. She pulled her hand back and slowly rubbed it against her pants to wipe the feel of his hand on hers.

All the wind left his body as he heard the name; the person he was so eager to meet was standing right in front of him and he couldn't feel but hatred for her and then he followed her hand gesture and smirked and said "so you will be my legal secretary. I have heard _great things_ about you from my father. Would you come with me to my office?"

He turned to Tyler and said "that is fine Tyler. You can go now".

Tyler looked at Hayley and left.

Hayley looked towards Klaus who had gone to his office.

She sighed and took a deep breath to calm her nerves down and then picked up the writing pad and went to his office whereas Janet left after mouthing "wow".

As she entered the office he said "I don't know what kind of work you used to do for my father but as for me you job is simple. You do what I ask you to do".

Hayley looked at him in shock and said "Mr Mikaelsons, I will only do the job that is required by me in my job description. I will not…"

Klaus leaned back in his chair and said "if you want to work here you will have to do what ever I ask you to do. Don't worry I know my boundary and _your job description._" making Hayley's stomach drop several inches. She glared at the man sitting on the chair which was not long ago occupied by the best man she had ever know and the hatred for him multiplied many folds.

Klaus motioned her to sit down and leaned forward picking up a file from the desk and said "I like to drink coffee a lot preferably every two hours. I like to work late and as long as I stay in the office you stay with me. I have to go for business trips to different city to our different offices…"

Hayley stared at him and said "Mr Mikeasons, Mikael …. " cutting him off and making him look up. When he just stared at her she hastily said "Mr Lockwood never asked me to accompany him on those business trips and I never work after 6" and gulped as she saw him lean back in his chair.

When he didnt say anything she rubbed her hand over her thigh making her realize that her hands were sweaty.

Klaus at last said "my father is gone Ms Marshall. It is me now and you are _my secretary_. We pay you very well and I expect you to work for that pay".

She stared at those blue eyes which had no shine in them unlike lively eyes she was used to. She at last nodded as she thought of Hope and looked down and missed the smirk that appeared on his face.

He then continued "so where was I before you rudely interrupted me".

She looked up and saw his smirk and those dimples reminding her of Hope's dimple and felt her throat fell heavy. She cursed him for giving her daughter those features of his.

She controlled her emotions and said "you were telling me about your business trips".

He added coldly "thank you. _If _I have to go to some business meetings _you will accompany me day or night._ I want you there to take detailed notes of everything that will be discussed".

She looked at him waiting for more but he didn't say anything and continued to stare at her with hands intertwined with each other.

He stared at her and wondered '_she is pretty, albeit not sophisticated but she can get any one so why go after his father?' _but didn't say anything and then he said dismissively "that will be all for right now".

Hayley got up annoyed at his rudeness but glad to leave this office. She left the office without saying anything. She sat on her chair wondering in shock and bitterness '_how come she never knew about him? He is Mikael's son so how come Mikael never told her about him. If only she had known, seen one picture of him she would have left the job. Even now it is not late but Hope! She needs this job but he took away her…' _she couldn't finish her thoughts with anguish. She sat there looking at the notepad when the buzzer on her phone rang. She sighed and picked it up and heard him say "I would like to get that coffee now".

She said "yes Mr Mikaelsons. How do you take it?"

Klaus looked up from his desk and looked out from the glass wall and saw her looking at the notepad with the pen in her hand. He suddenly felt very weird but he shook his head and said "black, no sugar and no creamer".

He saw her nod his head and heard her say "I will bring it right away".

Klaus was looking at the file his father was handling before the accident when she put the coffee right in front of him and turned to leave without saying anything when he said "I want you to type this page. There were some errors. I corrected them".

Klaus didnt look at her and she took the file from his hand and left closing the door behind her softly.

Hayley sat at her desk wondering '_what was she going to do? She cannot work with him. She needs to get out'._

She thanked her luck that he didnt recognize her. She smiled and said to herself "how can he recognize her? He was drunk and she is not the same girl anymore. Her hair are different color now and they are longer too. She is not a defenseless child with freckles all over her face , laden with heavy makeup, lenses in her eyes, dark red lipstick to make her look older". She almost laughed as she realized that she probably looked older in that getup then how she looks now.

She switched on her computer and started to type the file he had given her while all the time thinking that she needs to get out of this and find another job. She decided that she will not let him find out about Hope at any cost. She looked at the computer and terribly missed Mikael but sighed and said to herself "no use living in dream world. He is gone now". She wiped her eyes.

She could hear buzz in the office and knew everyone wanted to meet the new boss. Around noon he summoned her again along with rest of the office staff and introduced him to them by giving a very eloquent speech. After that he dismissed her again and lost in his work. Janet walked to her as she was having her lunch on her desk and said "wow he is so handsome _and charming_. You are os lucky to be working with him".

Hayley looked at the Janet who must be at least five years older then her and wondered _'if only she knew what was behind that handsome face'. _

Janet didnt wait for her answer and left.

She thanked her luck that he didnt ask anything from her except for the coffee she was supposed to give him every two hours.

Around 6:45 pm he summoned her again and said "I have a meeting with Andrew about a case. You will note everything we discuss".

Hayley groaned inwards as she realized that the meeting will take a lot of time but she had no choice and nodded.

She started to leave when he asked her "where are you going?"

Hayley said "Mr. Salazar is coming at 7".

Klaus looked at her and said "Ms Marshall I have a lot of work to wind up. My father had many unfinished cases and I need to wrap them up. You will have to stay late with me for a few weeks until I wrap them up. Later then I normally work".

Hayley gulped and wondered what is she going to do about Hope but before she could say anything Andrew came in and the endless discussion started. She continued to take down notes but Hope was constantly at the back of her mind.

Klaus looked at her a couple of times and saw her glancing at her cheap wrist watch and smirked and then after one hour Andrew also left and he still showed no sign of getting up. Hayley got up and was about to leave her office when he said "I need those notes typed in an hour".

Hayley stared at him but didnt say anything. She went to sit at her small desk and took out her cell from the drawer and saw a missed call from Amy. She sighed and dialed her number and said as soon as the call connected "I am so sorry Amy. My new boss is still in the office and I cannot leave. I will be home as soon as I can".

She put the cell down and startled as she heard him say "_I am sorry_ I didnt realize that I was keeping you from something really important".

Hayley couldn't help but sense sarcasm in his voice as stood up and felt terror sneak in her heart at how close he was standing to her and she instinctively took one step back making his eyes narrow.

She said "ummm no I just… It is past 8 and I was supposed to … " she stopped as she realized what she was about to say.

Klaus smirked and said a bit rudely "Ms Marshall I already told you that I work late. You can go home today but next time please inform _whoever is waiting for you_ that you will be late".

And without waiting for her response he went back to his office.

Hayley took a sigh of relief and then quickly gathered her stuff and was about to leave when her gaze fell on him working on some file. She wondered _'should she offer him one last cup of coffee' _but her heart said _'no why should she?'_

A voice said "you_ need_ this job".

the first voice said "as long as I don't find another one and until then I don't have to be nice to him. This is my need".

the other voice said "and what if he fires you?"

Hayley sighed and went to the kitchen and put the water in the kettle and coffee cup in the holder and stood there waiting for the coffee to brew and wondered _'what if she transfer herself into a different department?'_

Klaus picked up the other file and started reading it and wished he could have another cup of coffee when the door opened and he said "I told you to go home".

When she didn't say anything and put coffee in front of him he looked up and saw her turning away from her and leave.


	3. Chapter 3 Bumps in the road

**_Synopsis: Hayley tries to settle down in her new role as Klaus's secretary while struggle to find balance a personal problem. Klaus finds out something about Hayley's past. _**

Later that night Klaus was lying in his big bed, his eyes closed when out of blue an image of Hayley Marshall came to his mind and he felt strange. He wondered _if he should get a dedicated legal secretary or just keep on working with her. She seems too green_ but then a voice told him "your father was happy with her work. On top of that she knows his style and his cases and considering you are wrapping up his cases she can be great asset and your day was not that bad _and you don't have to work with her for too long. At most two weeks. Surely you can handle two weeks_".

He reflected on his day and realized that it was not too bad and she seems very efficient and thought '_may be he should read her file and then decide what to do'_.

He chided himself for thinking of her and wondered what was it that was bothering him about her and why he cannot forget those hazel brown eyes full of apprehension when he felt a hand on his chest. He looked towards her and smiled and image of Hayley Marshall disappeared from his mind and pulled her towards him and said "I like this".

She said with a seductive smile "well _Caroline Forbes _soon to be Caroline _Mikaelsons_ is wearing it why wouldn't you like it!"

Klaus laughed and kissed her hard and said "of course".

Before he knew it she was taking off his shirt and he her flimsy nightie that he knew she spend hundreds of dollar but only managed to stay on her for not more then ten minutes and they were making passionate love with each other.

Afterwards she laid next to him fingering his chest and asked "how are you doing?"

Klaus said "I still cannot believe that he is gone".

Caroline said sympathetically "I am just glad Kol and Rebekah are fine. It was a terrible accident".

Klaus pulled her closer to him and said "yes".

Caroline said "how was the office and your new secretary?"

Klaus groaned inwards and said "she is okay. I still cannot believe that father fell for her. You should see her Caroline. She is closer to my age, younger probably if I am not wrong".

Caroline said kissing his chest "well you know the heart wants what the heart wants".

When he didn't say anything she continued wrapping her arm around his torso "I am so glad that you are back. I know the circumstances are not exactly desirable but at least you are back. Long distance relationship is not easy. I cannot wait to be with you permanently".

Klaus pulled her closer, kissed her on her bare arm and said "only six more months if you are waiting for the wedding but you know my house is your house".

Caroline said "I know but I have to do wedding preparation and these dance classes I am taking".

Klaus said "well that is your choice then" and closed his eyes and went to sleep only to be haunted by the nightmare he had been unable to forget. He looked towards her and seeing her deep in sleep he detangled himself from her, picked up his discarded pajama and walked to the window. He stood there looking out of the window of his penthouse into the skyline and thought in frustration _'it has been almost five years. When will I be able to forget about her. I was young, foolish and drunk'. _

He lit a smoke and sighed at the realization that whenever he thought about her he smoked. He sat on the settee near the window and stared out in the skyline trying to block the scream that had erupted from her lips when she realized what was going to happen with her, the tears streaming down her eyes smudging her makeup. The details of the incidence had started to haunt his mind gradually once his drunken condition started to wear off. Ever since he had been unable to shake off those beautiful eyes full of tears, the red lipstick smudged on her face during the struggle she put on, the defeated way she had stopped struggling. He looked at his hand and saw the fading bite marks that reminded him everyday of what he had done to that girl. He wondered if it was better that he didn't remember her face - It was so blurry that he couldn't make out her features except for those eyes and bite marks on her shoulder that he had given her when he was done with her.

Klaus was lost in his past and looking at those bite marks meanwhile Hayley was tossing and turning in her bed thinking of the long day she will have to spend in his company and the kind of work she will have to do for him. She told herself "With Mikael it was different. He was a decent man but Klaus… " she couldn't finish her thought and jumped to next thought _'coffee for him!…. but what else option does she have?' _and then her mind went to the impending appointment that she had been trying not to think of. She touched her breast and wondered _'how did that happen? She is only 22 year old. Don't old people get this problem?' _Then she said to herself "don't jump the gun. Lets wait for the appointment to see what will happen".

She wished she could leave this job but she knew she couldn't. She needed this job. She needed this job for herself and for Hope. They were paying her good and the benefits were relatively good - better then many she had come across. She said to herself "I have to a daughter to think of. She needs security in her life".

At last she managed to get a shut eye near dawn. When her alarm rang at 7, she turned if off and went back to sleep. Next time when her eyes opened it was from the soft touch on her face. She smiled and said "morning my love".

Hope said "me up mommy late".

Hayley jumped at those words and said hastily "yes mommy is _very _late" after looking at the clock.

She dashed to the bathroom leaving Hope smiling standing near her bed. She took a shower and changed into a fresh pair of fawn pants and red shirt and came out. She quickly dried her hair and brushed them while touching Hope's forehead and said "yayy your temperature is down" kissed her and put on her shoes and said "I have to go honey. Love you".

She then ran to Amy's room and knocked at it and put on the pearl earrings and the shoes. She said to her as the door opened "I am running late. Can you…" and stopped talking as she saw over her shoulder.

She stepped back and looked at Amy who was averting her eyes.

Amy said hastily "Hayley we just…"

Hayley said with a smile "it is okay Amy. You don't have to explain anything. I just came back from the hospital. Can you please make sure she takes her milk and egg?"

Amy said "sure" and then asked "is it today?"

Hayley said "yes, at 7. He especially accommodated me. I hope I will be able to leave the office" and then headed towards the door ignoring Tyler saying "Hayley I…"

By the time she reached the office she was ten minutes late. She cursed her car which had refused to start in the morning. She practically ran in and groaned as she saw him already sitting behind his desk lost in his work.

She darted to the kitchen and put his coffee on and then took a deep breath and went to his office.

Klaus heard the door open and said "you are late Ms Marshall".

Hayley put the coffee on his table and said "this will not happen again Mr. Mikealsons" and stood there.

Klaus stared at his file and then picked up his coffee and said "I need you to take down some notes for me. I will need them later".

Hayley nodded and left.

When she came back he was still reading the file.

He looked up as he heard the sound of her heel and said "Ms Marshall I have this meeti… ngs" and stopped talking as his gaze went to her red shirt, fawn pants with a soft lipstick on her soft mouth that he was sure smiled rarely and her hair tumbling down over her shoulder and looking down at the notepad.

Hayley felt the silence and looked up and saw him staring at her and suddenly felt her a drop in her stomach and her hands started to sweat and she cleared her throat and said "Mr. Mikealsons, you have meeting…?"

Klaus recovered and said "umm yes I have a meeting at Benjamin's office to meet his clients to discuss Dean Vs Stan case at 11: 00 am. You are to accompany me".

Hayley said "right" controlling her heartbeat but stayed there. He gestured her to sit and said "I want you to take down the notes and I need them for the meeting".

For the next half an hour Klaus dictated her the details about the case and she continued to write in silence looking down at her pad while he tried to look anyway other then her face. For some reason it looked disturbed and it was bothering him. The urge to ask her what was bothering her was getting stronger by the minute and was annoying him to no extend so he stood up and went to the window and started looking out but continued to dictate her. After he was done he said "that will be all. You have half an hour to type this Ms Marshall".

he nodded and got up to leave when he said "don't be late again Ms Marshall".

Hayley nodded and turned to leave but stopped. He was lost in his work so she cleared her throat and said after some hesitation "Mr. Mikaelsons?!"

Klaus looked up and saw her standing there biting her lips. He looked at her questioningly.

She said "I need to leave early today".

Klaus groaned inwards and said "what time?"

Hayley said "6:30".

Klaus relaxed and said "okay".

She nodded and went back to her chair. She took out her cell and called Amy and said "how is she? has she had her breakfast?"

Amy said "yes but with difficulty. I think you should think of getting her checked".

Hayley said with a bit of frustration that she was feeling towards Klaus "O Amy you know it is just flu. She will get better in a day or so" and then added "thank you Amy. I will be late today" and put the cell down after she heard her say "best of luck and dont worry about Hope".

She held her head and took the first deep sigh of breath to calm her down.

She switched on her computer and started typing the notes he had just given her.

Klaus got up, collected his briefcase and walked out and said "lets go Ms Marshall".

Hayley got up and followed him. She hesitated just for a moment before entering the elevator which didn't go unnoticed by Klaus.

He looked at her wondering what was wrong with her. When he opened the back door of his car for her she looked at him with surprise but after a moment of hesitation got in and scooted to the farthest end of the seat.

Klaus sat down in the back seat too and couldn't help notice the distance between them. He looked at her but she was looking out and her hand was clutched in a fist in her lap.

During the meeting too he noticed her distracted but otherwise normal. She didn't feel awkward or anything when Benjamin shook her hand and didn't do the hand wiping thing that he had noticed her doing in his presence.

After the meeting they headed back to the office without saying a single word to each other. She brought him his coffee and went back to type the notes that she had taken during the meeting.

She looked at that time and realized that that she had missed her lunch time so she decided to take a break but the thought had just crossed her mind when he buzzed her in.

She groaned and went in. Klaus said "are you done with the Benjamin meeting notes?"

She said "not yet".

Klaus said "I need them now. I need to discuss their counter offer with Mr. Dean in the afternoon. Can you finish them up before taking your lunch break?"

Hayley prevented the sigh that was about to escape her lips and said "sure" and turned to leave when the door opened and a young blond woman entered.

She said with a tinge of annoyance in her voice "Nik, I have been waiting for your call. We are late for the lunch".

Klaus said getting up and planting a kiss on her lips "Caroline, I lost track of time. We have to wrap up some cases".

Caroline said "oh come on Nik. You need to eat _and_ we got reservations in _Menray_. Come on".

Klaus looked at her for a second, then nodded and said "okay. Any way I am starving".

Hayley thought with relief that now she can have her lunch too.

She said "excuse me" and was about to leave when Klaus said "Ms Marshall meet Caroline Forbes my finance and Caroline this is my secretary Hayley Marshall".

It took all her will power to control her reaction. She presented her hand to Caroline and said with a smile "it is nice to meet you Ms Forbes".

Caroline shook her hand and said "Ms Marshall. It seems I have seen you somewhere".

Klaus took off his coat from the back of his chair and looked at them and couldn't help but notice the blush on her cheek.

Hayley said with a smile "I don't think so Ms Forbes. We move in different circles".

and tried to take her hand away but Caroline held her a bit tight and said after thinking for a second "Tyler. I met you at Tyler's house" making Hayley stomach drop many levels and she instinctively looked at Klaus from the corner of her eye and saw him looking at her in surprise.

She said "yes I know Mr. Lockwood" and then pulled her hand from her with a bit force and said "excuse me" and left.

She sat on the table looking at the monitor screen and watched them go with her arm around him and feeling a strong hatred for him. As soon as his back disappeared into the elevator she put her head on the table and closed her eyes.

Klaus put the napkin on his lap and lifted his fork when she said "your secretary is very pretty and you gave me an impression that she was okay. If you were any other guy I would have gotten insecure. But now I understand what Mikael saw in her".

Klaus grunted making her realize that he does not want to discuss it.

She then added "but I don't get why is she working for you. Her parents are really rich. She doesn't need this job".

Klaus said putting the fork down and leaning back "what do you mean?".

Caroline said "I remember who she is now. She is daughter of Henry Marshall Klaus. Her mother Emily Marshall is friends with your aunt and uncle. I heard that she ran away a couple of years ago but why stay in the same city".

Klaus said "so they are still in touch with Aunt Carol".

Caroline said "of course they are. They are invited to our wedding".

Klaus said "hmm".

Caroline looked around and then held his hand across the table and said "have you thought what you are going to do?"

Klaus said taking a sip of his wine "Caroline you know I love my job and we have already discussed this. I cannot do this. I am just here to wrap up his unfinished cases then Elijah will take over".

Caroline said "I know but now you father is gone, someone need to take over his position and you are well equipped to do so".

Klaus said with frustration "Caroline Elijah is moving back to Mystic Falls. I need to go back after I wind things up here and I thought you were okay with my job".

Caroline squeezed his hand and said "I am"

Klaus said "then what is the problem?"

He leaned forward and said with a teasing smile even though he felt a drop in his stomach "are you having second thoughts?"

She answered at once "of course not" making his heart feel light at once.

Klaus raised the hand for the waiter to bring the bill and after giving him the card he got up and kissed Caroline and said "I have to go love. I have a meeting with someone".

And then without waiting for a reply he left.

He tried to not to think of what Caroline had just told him about Hayley and this nagging feeling he was starting to have relating to his job and the firm but couldn't to his annoyance. As he reached his office he saw her with her head on her desk and realized in a second that she was sleeping. He cleared his throat and said "Ms Marshall" but she didn't move.

He stood there for a moment and then called her again "Ms Marshall". But when she didn't show any sign of waking up so he said "bloody hell" and touched her shoulder making her jump out of her skin.

Hayley felt someone touch her and at once stood up and saw him standing near her. She instinctively looked around and stepped back making Klaus narrow his eyes. He said coldly "Ms Marshall this is a office not your bedroom" and went to his office.

Hayley cursed him and herself for sleeping there. She darted to the bathroom and stood there leaning agains the door and then threw water on her face and tried to calm down. She could still feel his touch on her shoulder and felt like burning these clothes. At last she got out and went to make his coffee.

Klaus was looking out of the window down the building when he sensed her enter the room. He turned just in time to see her put the coffee cup on the table and retreat and said "you know my cousin Tyler".

Hayley groaned inward and said "yes".

Klaus asked "why are you working in this firm?".

Hayley said reluctantly "I need the job".

Klaus said "from what I understand_ you don't need the job_".

All the tension she had been feeling since last night and at her helplessness in not being able to do anything in this situation make her snap and she said aggressively "only_ I _know my needs" and turned to leave when Klaus quickly recovering from the shock at her outburst said "Ms Marshall…" but she cut him angrily and said "_Mr. Mikealsons I am your secretary. You dont have any right to pry into my personal life_" and left the room.

Her hands were sweating and she was trembling with anger by the time she reached her desk. She tired to calm herself down after sitting down and once the calm started to settle in she started to regret her outburst and suddenly got scared that he might fire her. As if on cue her buzzer buzzed.

Klaus could see from the distance her body tensing up. He said as she picked up the phone "I need you to come in".

Hayley entered the room and said with dignity "Mr. Mikalesons I am sorry for my outburst. I…it wouldn't happen again".

She kept looking at him when he didnt say anything.

Klaus could feel the tension oozing out of her body. He picked up the file from this table and said "I need these typed again".

Hayley nodded and took the file from him and then swallowed her pride and said "I am sorry once again" and left the office leaving him confused.

He didn't call her again for anything for the rest of the day. She typed the file he had given her, gave him coffee two times, checked his calendar, informed him about his meetings for the next day. When she turned to leave after giving him the coffee the last time he said "you can leave Ms Marshall but don't make it a habit".

She nodded and walked out.

Klaus looked up just in time to see her hurrying towards the elevator. He shook his head and got lost in his work again.

She took out his cell and dialed his office and said "I am running late. Can you please inform Dr Ackles?"

By the time she reached there she was ten minutes late.

After the nurse left her in his office she said "Dr Ackles I am sorry I am late".

Jim Ackles stood up and said with a smile "I think we know each other long enough to call each other by our first names Hayley. Call me Jim" and scooted the chair out for her.

When she smiled he added "I got your message. In any case I wanted to discuss a few things with you".

Hayley sat opposite him and said with a smile "so what is the verdict?"

Her heart sank at the look he gave her. She asked "what are my chances?"

He said "you are young. You can fight it. It is still stage 1 but we need to take it out. We can either do lumpectomy, take the tumor out or mastectomy remove your breast and then we got towards Chemo. Now just so to make your decision making easier I should tell you advantages and disadvantages of mastectomy versus lumpectomy. First of all compared to mastectomy, with lumpectomy there is a slightly higher rate of the cancer returning to the breast which is called recurrence. Any recurrence must be treated. The risk of cancer spreading to other organs called metastasis and the main cause of breast cancer death is the same for both procedures".

He paused for a moment for the information to absorb in her and then continued "now there are risks and benefits to consider when choosing between mastectomy and lumpectomy plus radiation therapy. The main benefit of lumpectomy plus radiation therapy is obviously that the breast is preserved as much as possible. A potential benefit of mastectomy is that radiation therapy may be avoided. Although some women will need radiation therapy after mastectomy, many will not. You will not if you chose to have mastectomy. Radiation therapy has some side effects and requires daily trips to a treatment center. If you live in an area without access to radiation treatment centers, or if you cannot have radiation therapy, mastectomy is usually the better option".

He opened his drawer and took out a pamphlet and gave it to her and said "it has all the information you will need but you have to decide as soon as possible".

Hayley took the pamphlet, looked at it and then looked at him desperately "I cannot have this right now. Hope needs me. She needs a mother around her not a patient…"

He looked at her sympathetically and said "you should think about it Hayley. You needs surgery whichever you decide to have. Seeing that it is only half an inch and the location of it I would suggest localized lumpectomy and then we can do chemotherapy and radiation. You have a child who needs you".

Hayley looked at him for a few minutes and then said "I am thinking of her. I…". It suddenly occurred to her how is she going to pay for all of this. She is already in too much debt and she blurted in anger "but I am only 22. How can I have breast cancer?"

He said with a sigh "no one knows how someone can have cancer. It is a disease which can happen in anyone. It is true that normally it happens in older women but it can happen in younger too. Having an young and healthy girl like yourself cancer is not that unusual".

Hayley closed her eyes for a second and tried to calm herself down but the only thing that she could think of was Hope and her future.

Dr Ackles looked at her with sympathy and then said "Hayley would you like to have dinner with me. I want to discuss something with you".

Hayley looked at him and said with hesitation "cant we talk here?"

He said "no. Have dinner with me at Dolche's tonight and we will talk and you will get some time to unwind too".

He stood up forcing her to stand up too.

They walked out together and he opened the car door for her and said "you can pick your car on the way back from the dinner".

The drive to Dolche's was a quiet one with Hayley lost in her thoughts thinking about her future and Ackles thinking of her.

After the settled down Jim Ackles said "Hayley you have to think of yourself. You are young. You have a full life ahead of you and then you have a child to take care of. If it is money problem I can help you" and grabbed her hand electrifying her body.

She pulled her hand away from her making him narrow his eyes.

She saw confusion in his eyes and regretted her action and said "thank you but I cannot. I don't want to be under debt to anyone Jim".

Jim at once said "you are misunderstanding me Hayley. I am doing it for you and Hope. I want to help. Please take this. You can pay me back if that makes you feel comfortable".

Hayley stared at her hand and said "let me think about it".

Jim looked at her and sighed and said "yes think about it. But keep Hope in your mind. She needs her mother alive and healthy".

Hayley smiled and said "I will".

Dinner afterwards was relatively a quiet affair with them talking about general stuff.

He dropped her back at the office from where she picked up her car and went home.

When she got home Amy had put Hope to bed. She kissed her on her forehead and relaxed as she felt her cold forehead.

She went to her room and cried herself to sleep. She woke up in the middle of the night and after checking on Hope she snuggled close to her in her toddler bed and wondered _'How will she be able to get through this one now. She only had two thousand dollars in her bank for emergency cases'. _She kissed Hope's forehead and wondered_ 'Should she ask the loan from the company?'_ She stayed awake rest of the night and at last decided to try her bank in the morning. Around seven she slipped out of her bed and stepped into the shower to take a long shower but screamed as the cold water came out. She cursed and then quickly ended the shower making a mental note of talking to the building manager. By the time she came out Amy had woken up too and was making coffee. As she entered the kitchen Amy asked with a yawn "listen about yesterday. I know you dont like him spending night here but…"

Hayley said "it is fine Amy. I just…I just still not get … Please …". She felt so helpless that she was not able to finish her sentence when Amy said "you know he regrets his actions every day. He is a changed man Hayley. He will hurt me or you or Hope".

Hayley's heart contracted at the last name and she said "I know that he is a changed man but… and I know he would never hurt Hope".

Amy said with a sigh "I am sorry I know we had this rule but you came so late and we had this date and we couldn't go out so…".

Hayley said "I am sorry Amy".

Amy said "that is okay. I will take care not to have him at night time again".

Hayley looked at her with guilt and said "I am sorry".

Amy said "Forget about it. We will work around things. Tell me how did it go?"

Hayley took a sip and muster up some courage and said "it is malignant".


	4. Chapter 4 Silver lining part 1

**_A/N: guest. Hayley will definitely get a break starting from this chapter. It is just the start, her and Klaus's life are going to change from now on wards. I hope you enjoy this chapter. td. YEs Caroline is in the story but dont forget it is a Klayley story. Caroline , Elijah and Esther will play an important role in the bringing Klayley together and people I know it is depressing that she got cancer but cancer is curable and can get in remission. Don't lose hope in the story or in her life. The story is progressing gradually. Just be patient. All of your question will be answered but I still like that you are asking them. It tells me how involved you are in the story._**

**_The chapters are starting to get longer. I am not sure all of them will be this long or not. Do you prefer short chapter with gradual development of story or a lot of coverage of story line in one chapter?_**

**_Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter too._**

**_Synopsis: Hayley in a fix when she is turned down for the loan she needs from the company and the bank but as she thought that all door closed on her she gets some help. _**

* * *

><p>Amy relaxed expression changed to shock and she said "what?!"<p>

Hayley nodded and told her about what Dr Ackles had told her. After she was finished telling her everything Amy jumped up excitedly saying "what are you thinking then. take it".

Hayley said with hesitation "Amy he likes me. I know he likes me. I cannot take advantage of his feelings for me".

Amy said "listen forget about all of that. Just think of Hope".

Hayley said "I have to go. I have to leave early again. Talk to a bank manager for the loan and then I will got to the office. Will you please look after Hope".

Hayley left the bank after a long and tiring discussion with Sam, the bank manager who usually helped her with loan, feeling totally devastated. She was running out of options. The only option left was the company. She sat in her car for a while looking at the building trying to justify their refusal by telling her _'they are right. She was already too indebted with them and Sam couldn't help her anymore'._ She looked at her wristwatch and saw it was 8:11. She sighed and started the car headed towards her office.

Klaus was lying on the sofa reading the file about her he had asked human resources for it after she had gone home and was wondering _'how come she landed in his job? She does not have qualification for this job? So how? Did Tyler help her or her father…'._ He stopped his thoughts in anger. He closed the file and put it on his chest and closed his eyes when the door opened and saw her entering his office. As he saw she tucked the lock of the hair behind her ear and straightened things on his desk, he said "I see you take reprimands seriously Ms. Marshall".

He sat up as he saw her startling and then she stepped back hitting her legs against the chair making him narrow his eyes in confusion. She said "oh I am sorry Mr Mikaelsons. I didn't see you".

She started to leave when she bumped into the desk hiring with her leg and winced.

He saw her fumbling in confusion and impulsively got up and said "are you okay?" and walked towards her and when he was about to touch her hand she jumped back again as if he had done something really bad. He straightened and stared at her as she limped out of his office.

Klaus went to freshen himself in the attached bathroom where he kept an extra pair of clothes for situations like these all the time wondering about why she reacted that way. When he came out freshened up, his coffee was waiting for him on his desk.

He was sipping his coffee when she came in and told me of today's agenda and took notes for the work she was supposed to do.

Hayley picked up the file he probably had left for her previous night after she had gone for the appointment and scanned through it. In one glance she realized that it was a settlement agreement. She wondered_ 'how long did he stay in the office after she had gone and how did he manage to persuade their client? they were very adamant about their demand' _but then said to herself "who cares!" and started to type the settlement agreement. She looked up after half an hour to see his first appointment walking to his room. She got up and took them to his room to discuss about the case he was currently handling. The meeting was so long that she lost track of time. Soon after the meeting ended and his clients left, he told her to type the notes and bring them to him after the break.

She looked at her wristwatch and realized that he had taken 10 minutes of her lunch break. She hastily put the notepad on the desk and rushed to the accounting floor.

Klaus had two meeting with different clients which took most of his evening. He kept glancing at Hayley who was taking notes and couldn't help but feel that she was not totally present in those meetings but she was doing her work efficiently so he had nothing to say.

It was around half past six and Klaus was sitting at his desk when the door opened and a young girl walked in.

Klaus glanced up when she said "Mr. Mikealsons I am from the accounting department. Amanda Simpson"

He said "yes Amanda what is it?"

Amanda leaned back with the pencil in his hand. He waited for her to say something but she seemed hesitant and then Amanda said "Ms Marshall asked for a loan today".

Klaus straightened in his chair and asked "how much?"

Amanda said "ten thousand dollars".

Klaus looked at her thoughtfully and then his gaze went to Hayley through the glass wall and saw her looking at the monitor screen and the images of her worried face throughout the day flashed through his mind.

He said "thank you Amanda for keeping me informed. No need to tell you that it will be between us".

Amanda nodded and then asked "should I sanction her the loan?"

Klaus stared at Hayley and suddenly she looked around and their eyes met through the glass wall and then she hastily looked away.

Klaus said in a barely audible voice "no".

Hayley looked at the monitor screen but not really looking at it wondering what was Amanda doing in his office and prayed "please God don't let him find out about the loan request" but she knew that he will eventually find out. It was after all his firm.

Amanda nodded and left the room.

She was lost in her thoughts and didnt hear the buzzer.

Klaus looked at her bent head and wondered _'why is she not picking up the phone?'_

He at last got up and walked out and said coldly "Ms. Marshall if I have to walk out every time I need you then I think I should find someone else".

Startle by his voice Hayley jumped up and hastily wiped her eyes before turning towards him but he had already gone back in.

She picked up her notepad and went after him.

As she sat down she said "I am sorry Mr. Mikaelsons. it will never happen again".

Klaus stared at her and said "and neither will you ask loan from _this company!"_

Hayley gulped down the lump in her throat and nodded.  
>When he didn't say anything she asked "do you need me for anything else Mr Mikaelsons?"<p>

Klaus said "I have to go to our New Orleans office on Wednesday. You will accompany me".

He saw her hesitation and smirked knowing well she will not be able to say no.

She felt like screaming at him but said softly "this Wednesday?"

Klaus said with raised eyebrows "yes, do we have a problem?"

Hayley said after a moment of silence "no".

She stood up and said "anything else Mr. Mikalesons?"

Klaus stared at her and then said "no you can go now".

Hayley said "I mean can I … " but Klaus cut her off by saying "yes you can go home. I am done with you for today".

Hayley left his office and then quickly collected her things and headed towards the exit.

When she reached home it was around 7:15. Hope screamed with happiness as she looked at her. Hayley hugged her, picked her up and said "hey sweetie what are you doing out of bed?"

Hope said "cartoons".

Hayley smiled and said "can I watch?"

Hope nodded her head vigorously. Hayley sat on the sofa with her snuggling closer. After some time she realized that Hope had fallen asleep leaning against her so she picked her up and took her to her bed and put her on it and turned and went to change her clothes too.

After changing her clothes she stood in front of mirror and stared at her reflection and then ideally ran fingers through her wavy dark brown hair and it hit her that she will lose all her hair after the chemotherapy but if she does not get the loan then Hope will lose her.

She said "damn you Mr Mikaelsons" in her heart and wiped her tears. She looked up as she heard Amy ask "so?"

Hayley shook her head with a sigh.

Amy said "and the firm".

She pushed her hair back from her head and said "no too. I am thinking of taking Dr. Ackles offer but I want to try some more banks over the weekend".

She then added "why are you standing here? Go have fun. It is Friday. Go have fun".

Amy smiled, picked up her bag. She was heading out when Hayley said "Amy if you are meeting Tyler, dont tell him anything".

Amy looked at her and then nodded and left whereas Hayley after changing her clothes laid on her bed and picked up a book to read. She tried to keep her mind in the book but couldn't and suddenly she started to cry and cried herself to sleep.

Klaus got up on Saturday morning and felt relieved that Caroline didnt spend the night thinking now he can concentrate on his case. He spend two hour on the case file he was trying to wrap up. After two hours he rubbed the back of his neck and thought _'it has been days since he had come back and not met Stefan yet'_.

He changed his clothes and drove to his big house. He stopped the car and got out and waited patiently after ringing the bell.

A couple of minutes later the door opened and he said "I heard you were in town and was wondering when will I get the pleasure of meeting you".

Klaus entered eh house and said "I was busy with the cases father couldn't finish. I have to go back after I am done here".

He was about to say something when they both turned towards another voice saying "Stefan, Do you know where is …hey Klaus when did you come back. Sorry about your father".

Klaus said "Damon" and shook his hand and took the glass of drink Stefan offered him. He said to Stefan "so who is with the famous Elena Gilbert these days".

He realized from the thinning of Stefan's lips that she had finally chosen his brother and said "bad choice but what can I say".

Stefan smiled and led him to the living room

By the time he got home, it was late and Caroline was already in the bed. He got next to her and woke her up from his kisses and pulled her on top of him and made love to her before going to sleep himself.

Hayley spend Saturday going from one bank to another trying to get the loan dragging Hope with her and by afternoon she lost all hope. After coming out of the second bank she sat in her car and thought about her options and wondered if she should ask her adopted parents but then remembered what had happened and what kind of things will come up if by some miracle they give her the loan so she decided against it.

She gave Hope bath, read story and put her in bed with absent mind. After that, she went to her bed too.

She spend the night wondering what to do and while thinking of it she went to sleep. In the morning after giving breakfast to Hope she took her to an nearby park and saw her running around laughing and jumping and wondered _'what would happen to her if she does not survive this cancer?' _and that precise moment she decided to take Jim's offer. After they got home, she gave hope a bath, then Made Mac and cheese and brew a cup of coffee for herself. After she settled hope down at the kitchen table, she sat across from her with her cup. She looked up as Amy entered and asked "so what happened?"

Hayley shook her head and said "nothing" with a sigh and sipped her cofee.

Amy looked at her for a few minutes and then said "I am going out for a while. Is it okay with you?"

Hayley nodded smiling at Hope who was eating her mac & cheese and jabbering about what she did at the park.

Amy left the apartment and called him. As soon as the call connected she said "Can you meet me at Starbucks near my apartment ?"

She gulped her tears as she heard him say "what is it? Are you crying?"

She said "not yet. I need to talk to you about something really important. Can you just come".

She put the cell down when he said "yes I will be there".

Tyler put the phone and then left his house. Thirty minutes later he entered the coffee shop and went to her sitting with her head in her hands. He said "hey what is going on? you sounded too worried".

Amy said "Oh god thank you for coming. I don't know what to do". She paused for a second remembering her forbidding telling Tyler but she shook her head and said "It is Hayley. She has cancer and I cannot help her. What should I do?"

Tyler thought he had not heard her right, he said in confusion "what do you mean cancer?"

Amy said "she had this cyst in her breast that had been bothering her for a while and last week she got some test done and it came back positive. It is malignant and the doctor wants her to have a surgery but she does not have money and the insurance is not covering hundred percent and the firm and the bank refused too. It is only ten thousand dollars".

Tyler was still in shock and then he said "ten thousand but…" when Amy said "can you help her?"

Tyler said "yes of course I can".

Amy asked excitedly "can you?"

Tyler said "sure I can. I just…" he paused as he realized that he cannot take ten thousand from his account without spooking his father. He said "why has the firm refused it?"

Amy said "she wouldn't say".

Tyler said after a moment "I will find out".

After Hope was done eating she put her in front of Tv putting a cartoon movie for her and went to her room , sighed and then picked up her cell and called a number. As soon as the call connected she said "Hi Jim this is Hayley Marshall".

Jim said "oh hi, Hayley how is your weekend going?"

Hayley hesitated for a second and then said "Jim is your loan offer still available?".

She shut her eyes and waited for his response and smiled with relief and helplessness when she heard him say "yes. It is wonderful that you are taking it. We can do this week".

Hayley sighed with relief and said "what day?"

Jim said "sure let me see my schedule" and then after some quiet he said "how about coming Wednesday because I am on leave from Friday".

Hayley gulped her tears as she remembered the trip to New Orleans and then she said with determination "that sounds good. How long I have to stay in the hospital after the surgery".

Jim said "A day at most and then you have to think of getting chemotherapy done in three to four weeks".

When he woke up it was around noon and Caroline was still sleeping in his arms. He kissed her head and thought about his agenda for the day and decided to wrap up his case. He detangled himself from her and went to take a shower only to be joined by Caroline in a minute. They ended up having a long and passionate shower making out session. With their lips locked against one another, suddenly an image image of Hayley Marshall flashed through his mind, making him furious. He broke the kiss and stepped out leaving her bewildered. He spend rest of the day going through his files whereas Caroline changed and went out for shopping.

On Monday morning the day started as usual. She gave him his coffee and the usual agenda meeting and then they had a meeting in the conference room with one of his client. Her mind was not totally present and Klaus had to ask her twice for something making her flush and him somewhat annoyed. After the meeting ended Klaus left the room with his client whereas Hayley stayed back gathering the files and her notes.

After gathering them she left the conference room thinking of getting lost in her work to distract her mind. She switched on monitor from the sleep mode and send the command of printing of the document she had been working before the meeting and went to get them.

Klaus was sitting in his office when Tyler banged the door open and said "Klaus you ass".

Klaus looked at him in surprise and then said "language Tyler. what happened?"

Tyler said "why did you refuse Hayley the loan?"

Hayley looked at the printed document and then closed the file and walked towards his office and then stopped as she saw Tyler standing there and looking angry. She turned away and went to sit on her chair thinking she would go after Tyler is gone. She looked towards the door when she heard angry muffled sound through the closed door "she needs it. surely you can give her ten thousand dollars".

Klaus turned towards him saying "Tyler, I am in charge…" when he saw her standing there.

Tyler spun around as he saw her standing at the door glaring at him angrily. He walked to her and raised his hand to her shoulder when she stepped back instinctively and said "Mr Lockwood I don't need you as my advocate".

Klaus smirked and said "that is funny. The way I understand it you got this job through Tyler. You don't have any qualification so how come you got this job? I am really curious in finding out how did you manage to wrap him and my father around your pretty little fingers".

Tyler was staring at Hayley when his mind registered to those words and he spun around and said angrily _"Klaus! _what the hell man?"

Hayley felt a sickening feeling in her stomach and she started to feel dizzy. She said steaming in anger "Mr Mikaelsons if you are not happy with my job fire me but you have no right to question my character".

She then looked at Tyler and said angrily "_and you have no business _in my personal life Tyler" and left the office.

Tyler gave Klaus one angry look and followed Hayley said "Hayley".

Hayley turned to him and said "If you don't remember then I will say it again we are not friends any more. What you have done for me is enough. I don't want to take any more favors from you. You cannot… " she stopped talking as her throat started to get heavy. He grabbed her arm and said "are you willing to kill yourself over your pride?" and then said "Hayley!" as he knees buckled.

Klaus looked at them from the glass wall. He could see anger spitting out of her mouth which took him by surprise as he tried to recall if he had seen her in such temper and then remembered her outburst when he had asked something personal from her and it hit him that she was touchy about personal topics. And then he saw her knees gave away and he stepped towards the door but Tyler was already helping her in the chair.

He turned away from her and went to the window.

Hayley said desperately "Tyler please stop interfering in my life. Let me be. This is my secret and you have not right to tell anyone. Amy shouldn't have told you".

Tyler stared at her helplessly and said "no Hayley. I cannot do this. You still have not forgiven me".

Hayley said "Tyler I have forgiven you but I cannot forget it. My boss had no right in my personal life and neither do you".

Tyler looked at her desperate face and then walked back to the Klaus's office and said "Klaus you had no right to talk to her like that".

Klaus said "this is my office, my firm Tyler I can do whatever I want to do. If you want to help her why don't you give her the money".

Tyler said desperately "because she will not take it form me" and left the room leaving him confused.

Hayley had her head in her hands when she heard him say "Ms Marshall. We are to leave for New Orleans on Wednesday. I need you to be at the airport at 9:00 am".

He stared at her back as she continued to look in the other way and then she stood up, turned to him and said "I cannot go with you Mr Mikaelson. I am sorry".

Klaus looked at her face and there was something on it that made all his anger evaporate and he said "and may I ask why?"

Hayley said "some personal business to take care of, so I would like to take some personal time".

Klaus kept quiet for a moment and then said "You have till the end of the week to work things out Ms Marshall. I can postpone my trip to next week but I need you to come with me".

Hayley said "thank you" and sat down on the chair again and was starting to type when he said "you can go home now. You can finish this when you get back".

In the afternoon he was sitting looking ideally towards her chair when his cell rang. He picked it up and heard Elijah saying "so when are you coming now? I need to schedule that meeting".

Klaus said "next week. My secretary got sick and she is on personal leave".

He stared at her empty seat as he heard him say "is this the girl father was…"

Klaus said "yes the very same girl. You should see her Elijah. I read her file. She is only in her early twenties. Twenty two if I remember correctly. I dont know why would father do something like that…"

Elijah said "Niklaus dont tarnish his memories by dwelling onto it too much".

Klaus said with frustration "you are right but every time I look at her I get so mad that i feel like strangling her".

Elijah said "forget about it Niklaus. I wanted to let you know that I can handle that case. You dont have to come any more".

Klaus took a sigh of relief and said "that is great".

He put his cell down and then got up and left for his penthouse.

On the way to his penthouse he decided to visit his mother thinking that it has been a couple of days since he had last seen her. As he entered the house, he saw his aunt Carol Lockwood sitting in the living room with his mother. After greeting her he sat on the sofa opposite her and listen to them talking and as usual he saw to his amusement that the topic of discussion was his and Caroline's wedding. After a few minutes when he saw that conversation was not going anywhere other then the plate design and setting and food he cleared his throat and said "aunt Carol, do you know Emily Marshall's daughter Hayley Marshall?"

Carol looked at him in shock and said "yes I know her. Emily is a very dear friend. Pity what her daughter did to her".

Klaus looked at his hand resting on the armrest and asked "what do you mean?"

Carol said "she ran away to be with some boy. Her parents begged her to come back but she didnt. They have not seen her for the past 5 years I think. I don't think they are interested any more. It was not as if she was their biological daughter".

Klaus said "so she was adopted?"

Carol said "yes but why are you asking me all these questions?"

Klaus said "she is my secretary".

He noticed his mother's gaze fixed on him. He knew why she was looking at him so he refused to look at her.

Carol said "what? but Tyler never mentioned her".

She looked at Esther and asked "did you know about her?"

He saw his mother composing herself and say "no, I dont remember her and also you know that Mikael didnt bring work home".

Carol laughed and said "yes, we are lucky ladies. I pity Mason's wife. She will have to be on the same page as her husband".

Esther laughed and said "yes, he needs to get married now".

Klaus was wondering about Hayley and thinking why didnt Tyler tell his parents about her and then he remembered their interaction and knew in his heart someone was happening between them. He wondered '_were Tyler and Hayley involved at some point and that is why she does not want to come back. But why wouldn't she want to come back home. Did Tyler break up with her but he seemed genuinely angry at him for not giving her the loan. So what is it that is making her not go back home? Is she ashamed to go back after running away from home?' _

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didnt see her come in.

He startled when a hand touched his shoulder and someone said "I hope you were thinking of me Nikky".

He looked into the twinkling eyes and smiled and said "who else?" and kissed her on the mouth and said "what are you doing here?"

Before she could say anything his mother said "Caroline is here to discuss about the wedding plans. We have only six months left and so many things to do".

Klaus said getting up "six months is a lot of time ladies but any way I am off. I came to check on you. Where are Kol and Rebekah?"

Esther said "Rebekah is at Jane's house and Kol in his room".

Klaus pursed his lips and said "isnt it late for her to go to Jane's house?"

but before Esther could say anything Caroline said "oh lighten up. It is only 8. By the way how come you are home early today?"

Klaus said "I was done with my work so decided to come home early".

He kissed her and then headed towards the door when he heard Caroline say "Carol do you know who is his secretary?"

He stopped at the door when he heard Carol say "yes what a shame. Emily will be humiliated to find out her daughter is working as a plain secretary".

Klaus shook his head and left for his penthouse.

Next morning around 10 am Klaus looked up form his desk and looked at her desk but she has still not arrived and then remembered that she has taken some personal time. He thought in frustration 'but personal time does not mean that she can take days off. Shouldn't she be back by now'. He cursed as he realized that he didn't have her contact information. He contacted human resource and asked someone to send someone to help him out.

Klaus was looking with frustration at the young girl send by human resource to act as the temp secretary trying to log on to her computer then he took out his cell and called human resource and asked someone "I need phone number of Ms Marshall".

After a couple of minutes he said "thanks" writing down the number on the piece of the paper his secretary had handed him.

Hayley was putting Hope in the shower when her cell range. She said "I will be back honey".

She picked it up and groaned when she heard him say "Ms Marshall can you help us locate the files on your computer. They are password protected" and then she heard a young girls voice "Ms Marshall can you guide me through it?"

Klaus stood there impatiently looking at his temp secretary as she navigated through the files and said "okay got it. thank you" and handed him the cell back.

Klaus was about to say something when he heard the tone telling him that she had ended the call and an angry wave went through his body.

For the next two days Klaus felt her absence the most. His temp secretary was not as efficient as Hayley was and that was causing a lot of delay in his work. The case he was supposed to finish in two days was taking more time and that just totally frustrated him and made him wonder _'how come she is so efficient when she does not even have any qualification for the job'. _

The only relief time for him during those two days was when he would go home at night and Caroline would greet him with that charming smile of hers which would make him forget about Hayley and his office problems. They would make love late into the night and would go to sleep in each others arms but ended with him waking up by those dreams of his.

By Wednesday afternoon Klaus was so frustrated that he called human resource and demanded to get another temp for him.

Thursday morning when he reached his office she was not there and a new girl was sitting at her desk. She stood up as she saw him and said "good morning Mr. Mikaelsons".

Klaus looked at her dressed in tight fitted skirt, a buttoned up top and hight heals with straight hair down her shoulder and dark red lipstick and went to his office gesturing her to follow him. She said "Mr. Mikalesons my name is Sharon and I will be your secretary from today".

Klaus said "Ms…"

Sharon said "Dean".

Klaus said "Ms Dean I have to finish this case by the end of this week. Are you willing to put in nights on them".

Sharon smiled and said "sure Mr Miakelson".

He thanked his luck for getting an efficient secretary at the right time. He realized she was not Ms Marshall but she was better then his last temp secretary. With her help Klaus managed to get a settlement agreement for his client by then end of Friday afternoon and he took a sigh of relief looking forward to Monday now.

* * *

><p>Monday morning Hayley looked at the incision mark on her right breast and then put on her bra and winced as her fingers touched the stitches. She put on her clothes and came out of the bathroom. She was putting on her coffee when Amy said "isnt it too early to go back to the office?"<p>

Hayley said "i have missed four days. I cannot miss more. They will fire me and I need to have this job now more then ever" and then went to Hope's room, kissed her and said tot Amy "I will be late today. I probably had a lot to catch up and Mr. Mikaelsons must be upset with my long absence" and headed to the office.  
>As she entered the office she took a sigh of relief when she saw his seat empty and went to sit on her chair.<p>

She switched on her computer and was looking through the appointment book when she startled as someone said "good morning".

She jumped up as she saw a young man with black hair in an immacable suit. She said "good morning".

he said "you must be Hayley Marshall, my secretary".

Hayley looked at him in confusion and thanked her luck when he continued "my name is Elijah Mikaelsons. You will be working for me from today".

Hayley fumbled with the urge to ask where he has gone and then she said to herself "why should she care? It is good that he is gone".

She said with a smile "it is nice to meet you Mr Mikealsons".

Elijah said "call me Elijah. Mr. Mikealsons is too formal".

She said with a smile "do you want me to bring your coffee?"

Elijah said "yes" and went in.

After a couple of minutes he looked up as a cup of coffee appeared on the desk.

He took a sip and said as she turned to leave "I take one teaspoon of sugar Ms Marshall".

Hayley suddenly flushed as she realized that she had made Klaus's style coffee. she said "I am sorry Mr. Mikaelsons. I will make you another one" and was about to head out when he said "that is fine. I am not finicky as Niklaus. Just wanted to let you know".

Hayley nodded her head and left the office getting angry at herself for not asking him how he takes his coffee.

While Hayley was getting acquainted with her new boos, Klaus entered the room buzzing with loud voice, smell of bad coffee and donuts and smiled as he realized that he missed all of this. He went to his desk and put his gun and badge in it and turned to Joe who said "hey you are back. We had no drama no shouting no outburst while you were gone. it was so peaceful that I thought I would go crazy".

He smiled and said "I thought you would go crazy" and then after a short pause he asked"so what did I miss?"

Joe said "nothing. Just usual. You were only gone for what two weeks. How is your family taking the loss?"

He opened his mouth to say something when he heard a voice "hey partner you are back".

Klaus said "yes, came back yesterday" and then turned to Joe and said "they are doing fine. I wrapped up his cases and now I am back. Elijah has taken over".

She was about to say something when Joe said "show him Alexis".

Klaus looked up and said "what?"

She showed him her left hand making him smile and say "so Alex got the nerve after all. Good for you".

She was about to say something when they heard a very authoritative voice "we have a robbery going on in the Liberty Mutual on 21st. Mikealsons welcome back. You and Woods take this one".

Klaus got up and picked up his gun and badge feeling happy for the first time in the last two weeks and said "yes captain" and followed Woods out and smiled as she asked him "so how is our Ms Forbes?"


	5. Chapter 5 Another world another life

**_A/N: guest. your curiosity about kids knowing about Mikael having an affair with Hayley will somewhat be answered in this chapter. Klaus and his mother hate Hayley because he thinks that she was having an affair with Mikeal. Elijah is starting to have doubts about the affair. Hayley past with her parents will be relieved but a bit later. She will tell Klaus her side of the story. Right now everyone thinks that she is a runaway._**

**_I hope you enjoy the next chapter too._**

**_Synopsis: Klaus Mikaelsons life is about to change for ever. He is about to enter into a world he had no idea existed. On the other hand Hayley is struggling with the side affects of chemotherapy. _**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Two weeks later:<em>**

Elijah looked up and said "what are you doing here? it has only been two weeks since you left".

Klaus said pulling out a chair and taking a seat "I was on suspension".

Elijah looked at him in shock and asked "why?"

Klaus said indifferently "I shot a cop".

Elijah suddenly got irritated and asked "will you stop being so cryptic. Tell me what happened".

Klaus laughed at his frustration "It was a justified shooting. He was going to kill a child and I shot him".

Elijah looked at him and then snapped in frustration "and?"

Klaus smiled and said "I have been cleared. I just thought I should make use of rest of the days off and come visit my family. Too much to ask for?"

Elijah shook his head and said "no" and then added after some time "so your first kill after joining the force".

Klaus nodded and then added "I don't know what the big deal is".

Elijah said "you don't see it a big deal probably because you save same one".

Klaus said "you are right perhaps".

Elijah said "so Johnson tells me that you pay visit to the office regularly".

Klaus said casually "whenever I get time".

Elijah laughed and said "don't be modest. Three times a week is a lot. Missing the life style?"

Klaus laughed and said "not at all" when the phone rang and Elijah picked it up and said "patch me through and Ms Simpson I need those notes before he come for the meeting".

Klaus looked around and saw a new girl sitting at her desk and asked casually "where is your other secretary?"

Elijah said "Ms Marshall?! She is on leave, hence the slow day".

Klaus said "so what do you think?"

Elijah asked "about her?"

When Klaus nodded, he leaned back and said thoughtfully "I can see why father fell for her. efficient and pretty-in fact i think she's beautiful, besides of young and smart. Do I like it? No I dont but what can we do. He is dead and apparently she has moved on".

Klaus frowned and said "you are singing her tunes for sure".

Elijah laughed and said "yes she is great. Makes great coffee".

Klaus said "I think she has some problems. She asked for a loan when I was here".

Elijah picked up the file and said "oh yeah she needed the loan so I gave it to her. What is the big deal? She will return it".

Klaus looked at him in surprise but didnt say anything as Andrew entered the room.

Andrew said "Klaus, when did you come back?"

Klaus said "a few hours ago. How is my brother treating you?"

Andrew laughed and said "less burdened than you man".

Klaus said "pray that I don't come back ever again" then turned to elijah and said "I'm off. I have not been to home yet and then Caroline".

He was about to leave when Elijah said "hey it is good that you are home. I was thinking of calling you so that we can all hear the will together. I am thinking of getting that done tomorrow. Let me talk to Ben and get back to you".

Klaus nodded and left.

After spending an hour with his mother discussing their business, his wedding plans, assuring her that he was fine and nothing was going to happen to him in his job, gently trying to dissuade her from same old demand about leaving the force and joining the family business, assuring her that he can fulfill his obligations towards Caroline while being a cop he got up to leave. As he walked toward the door his cell rang and he saw Elijah's name on the caller ID.

He picked up the cell and heard him say "Ben will read it tomorrow afternoon".

Klaus walked toward the front door and said "okay good" and then smiled as the door opened. He said to Elijah "I will talk to you later. Mason is here". After putting the cell down he said "Mason! when did you come back?"

He hugged the man who said "technically I am your uncle, generation gap".

Klaus said with a laugh "yes only by five year".

Mason said "true and as for me coming here I was just visiting and then Elijah called me to tell me about the will reading and the shooting. Are you okay?"

Klaus laughed and said carelessly "come on Mason I am a detective. It was bound to happen some day".

But then he realized that Mason was looking grave. He asked "what is going on?"

Mason said "I need to talk to you about some thing really important".

Half an hour later Mason turned the car into the forest. Klaus kept glancing at Mason as they drove deeper and deeper into the forest and then he stopped the car. Klaus got out and asked "where are we?"

Mason said "come on".

He led him deep into the forest and then stopped. He started moving some branches and to Klaus's shock he saw a door on the floor. He looked at Mason and then opened the door. Mason led him through long corridors deep into what looked like tunnel to Klaus. He stopped right in front of a cell and it hit Klaus that they were in a underground dungeon. Klaus looked at it and pushed the solid iron door open and entered. He looked around the room in shock and then walked to the chains and handcuff's attached to the ground. He turned to Mason and asked "what is all this?"

Mason said "This is our family's secret Niklaus".

Klaus picked up the heavy chain and asked "what do you mean?"

Mason said "Niklaus we are not ordinary humans. We have inherited something from our ancestors that make us special, different from others".

Klaus looked at him in confusion and said "what do you mean? You can tell me any thing. I am a detective after all and can take anything" and then he looked around and added as an afterthought "tell me you are not doing anything to break the law. If that is the case dont tell me".

Mason laughed and said "not yet. Tell . During the job have you ever lost it. I mean really lost it and thought you cannot control your anger and did something regrettable - picked up an uncalled for fight?"

Klaus said "of course I have, people often do that".

Mason said "you are not people Niklaus. If you noticed and had any idea, you would have realized that the anger episodes normally happen on full moon".

Klaus looked at him confused and said "what does that have to do with full moon?" He suddenly remembered all those crazy theories he had heard in his time in the force and laughed. He said "I cannot believe it. You mean to say that we are werewolves".

When Mason didn't answer he continued "I cannot believe that you would say something so immature. Werewolves don't exist Mason. It is all a myth".

Mason said in a no nonsense voice "Niklaus werewolves are very real and they do exist. One is standing in the cell with you".

It took a moment for Klaus to digest that piece of information. He could feel the smile slipping from his face and he said "that is not funny any more Mason".

Mason said "tell me about it. When I first transformed I didnt know what was going on so I left Mystic Falls. Remember? I did my research on werewolves and discovered that werewolves are normal people until they trigger their special gene that is passed on to them by their werewolf parents, in our case my father and in your case your father".

Klaus said now starting to get annoyed "Mason this is all rubbish. I dont have time for all this. I have a dinner date with Caroline".

He headed to the door but Mason said "there is only one way to trigger the gene Niklaus and that is if you kill some one intentionally or by accident" making Klaus stop in his track.

He stopped but didnt turn so mason continued "you remember Alissa, that car accident. I was driving that car and that is how I triggered mine. It was an accident but she died. Your father and Richard never triggered their gene.

Klaus stood there looking at the cell door and then an image of the man with a bullet hole in his head flash through his mind and he said "that is not possible" and stormed out of the dungeons.

He didn't stop until he reached his car. He got in and drove away in anger.

He entered Dolches, still angry at Mason for talking rubbish. He took a seat and while waiting for Caroline he tried to think of something else, but his mind kept coming back to what Manson had said no so long ago so in annoyance he started looking around and then he saw her. He stared at her as she tucked the lock of hair behind her ear. He got up and walked to her and said "fancy seeing you here Ms Marshall".

Hayley jumped up from her seat and said "_Mr Mikaelsons!_ what are you doing here?"

Klaus couldn't help but smirk at her question making Hayley realized how dumb of a question that was.

Klaus looked down and saw a notepad on the table and he caught the words "$10,000". He opened his mouth to say something when a man approached their table.

Hayley followed his gaze and gulped as she saw Jim back from the mens room and say "so where were we?"

Klaus glared at her and then said "hello, I am Klaus Mikaelsons".

Before Hayley could respond. He said "Mr Mikaelsons? As in Mikael Lockwood's Mikealsons".

Klaus smirked and said "yes he was my father" and involuntarily his gaze went to Hayley who suddenly felt her cheek burning up.

He then said "it is good to meet you Mr Mikaelsons. My name is Jim Ackles. I knew your father from his reputation".

Klaus couldn't help notice Hayley getting uncomfortable.

Hayley could feel his eyes on him so she said "Jim" and instinctively grabbed his hand taking Jim by surprise and for some reason Klaus annoyed. She continued "Jim thank you for the lovely lunch. I will definitely think about it" and picked up her purse and without looking at Klaus she left.

Klaus looked at Jim Ackles who was staring at Hayley leaving. He said "I am sorry if caused your date to end prematurely" and left without waiting for his response.

Klaus went to his table and saw Caroline sitting there. He smile, kissed her and they had a pleasant dinner in which he managed to forget about what Mason had told him. They discussed their wedding plan which for some reason annoyed Klaus a lot but he kept on listening to her and smiled as she showed her concern about his suspension and casually asked him about his decision to work in the force but Klaus assured her everything will be okay. Caroline changed the topic to the wedding planning again. When she asked him something twice he realized that he was not listening to her, he was thinking about Hayley. He wondered if she managed to get herself a new job using her special abilities with which she had trapped his father too.

She got home just in time to give Hope her bath and put her in the bed next to her. She tried to free her mind from all the conflicting thoughts about Klaus, about what he was doing back in the city, about her cancer and once the chemo start, how the side effects will affect her? and Hope's life and how will she get the loan and more importantly how will she be able to pay for it. At last she managed to sleep still with the last thought about what will happen to Hope if something happens to her.

Klaus went to bed thinking of what Mason had told him and what Hayley was doing with that guy while Caroline was sleeping in his arms. Next morning Klaus woke up and the first thing he saw was Caroline walking towards the bathroom. He looked at her for a moment and then got up and went after her. He took off his clothes and grabbed her from her behind and kissed her on her neck. She turned towards him and moved her hands over his back down to his hip. She grabbed them and squeezed them and said "I have to go to New York for four days. I have to do some important shopping" her eyes twinkled "for our wedding night".

Klaus lifted her face with his forefinger and kissed her and said "looking forward to it.  
>He moaned as she bit his lip and then slid down trailing kisses on his body. He pulled her up and pinned her against the wall and entered his finger in her core and starting move it against her and then pulled it out and replaced it with his hardened shaft and started ramming in her faster. Caroline moaned and yelled and bit his lips bringing him to a new high and when he climaxed she kissed him and said "I love you".<p>

Klaus said "I love you too" and then turned the shower on and after taking a slow seductive shower they got out.

Caroline put on her lipstick and asked "when are you leaving?"

He said to her as put on his jacket "I have a flight at 12".

She looked at him in the mirror and said "you be careful out there".

He grabbed her from behind and said "I will be. After all I have to get married to you". He kissed her neck and went to put on his shoes.

Klaus got out of the elevator and walked straight into Elijah office.

Hayley was taking notes about the meeting with his client when the door opened and she saw Klaus standing there and her heart skipped at beat. She instinctively looked at Elijah who gestured him to come in while continuing to dictate her.

After he was done she got up and left quietly.

Klaus said "I thought I should meet you before I go. Who knows when I will come back again? May be at the wedding".

Elijah said in surprise "what do you mean you are going? We are going to have a will reading in the afternoon. I told you about it".

Klaus said "I know but you don't need me for that. I have to get back Elijah".

Elijah said angrily "_Niklaus!"_

Klaus said "you can have the reading without me. You know I don't care about it".

He turned and left the office leaving Elijah angry.

He stopped as he saw her lost in her work and then walked to her desk and said "Ms Marshall!" causing her to jump out of her chair and making himself infuriated. He continued "courtesy demands that you tell my brother before looking for a new job" and walked towards the elevator without waiting for a response.

She turned towards him but he was already gone leaving her bewildered.

She sat down wondering _'what was he talking about?'. _

Klaus entered Rousseau's and smiled as a girl walked to him carrying a tray laden with glass of drinks and said "when did you come back?"

He said "I have been back for the past two weeks but I was busy. Crime rate had just bumped up so I had to take some action". He winked at the end of the sentence making her laugh. He added "no seriously I came back two weeks ago but went back home over the weekend. Just came back".

She looked around and said "I have customers to take care of, will talk again".

Klaus went to sit on an empty table and started looking around but suddenly he remembered what Mason had told him. He shook his head smiling when he heard a voice "hey Camille" and then a pat on his back saying "my man Klaus, when did you come back?"

Klaus looked up and said with a smile "Marcel, yesterday".

Marcel sat opposite him and said "so what happened? Did they prove you innocent or what?"

Klaus said "how did you find out?"

Marcel laughed and said "I have eyes everywhere especially on people I call my friends. So tell me".

Klaus said "of course they did. It was a justified shooting".

Marcel said with a smile "good".

He picked up his glass of bourbon and wondered should he share with Marcel about what Mason had told him. He was contemplating the idea when Marcel said to him "you look confused. Any problems?"

Klaus leaned forward and asked "do you believe that werewolves exist?"

He couldn't help but notice the smile slip from Marcel's face. He asked "What ?"

Marcel leaned forward, looked into his eyes and said "it is a myth Klaus. Whoever told you about werewolves was joking with you. Just Forget about it".

and then he got up and left.

Klaus stared at his back and wondered _'why did Marcel tell him to forget about it?'_

He walked towards his car when the cell rang and he smiled when he read Elijah's name on the caller Id. He picked it up and sat in the driver's seat and said "so how much did you get?"

He sat in his car in silence as he heard Elijah tell him the detail of the will causing his anger to reach a point where he knew if Hayley Marshall were in front of him he would have strangled her. He put the cell down after Elijah was done telling him and drove towards the apartment, near the precinct, steaming in anger at her.

**_A week later _**

By the time he got home he was feeling really agitated. He has been back hardly a week and the work was really hectic especially tonight. He entered the apartment, put the keys in the big bowl along with his wallet and badge and wondered '_what is it about full moon that makes people crazy'_ . He was feeling so tired and annoyed that he just wanted to lie on the bed and take a long uninterrupted sleep. He was walking toward his room when he heard the bell. He went to open the door and said with exasperation "Mason! What are you doing here?"

Mason said "Full moon. Come on. We only have one hour".

Klaus looked at him in surprise and then he remembered what mason had told him. He said with irritation "oh come on man, I just came home after a most idiot case of stupidity I have ever seen". and turned back towards inside when Mason grabbed him by his arm and dragged him out.

Klaus said "let go Mason" and pushed him away.

Mason looked up at the dark sky and said now with a hint of irruption "okay, you dont believe me. Dont. Just come with me and see with your own eyes".

Klaus stared at Mason in annoyance and then he said "okay fine. I will indulge you this once" He picked up his wallet and badge and headed out with him.

Mason asked "we need to go somewhere secluded. You must know the area".

Klaus nodded and guided him toward the bayou.

During the ride Mason said "whatever happens, just go with the flow. You will feel terrible pain. It is your first time so it may take many hours. I will chain you with the tree so that you dont hurt anyone".

Klaus rolled his eyes but didnt say anything.

They parked the car deep in the wood. Mason said to him "leave you wallet, phone, badge, jacket in the car".

Klaus looked at him as if he had lost his mind but did what he was told. He looked at Mason in shock as he took out the chain from the trunk of the car and chained him to a tree and then he did the same to himself.

Klaus said "man you have lost it. You need a check…" when he heard it; the first howl and he looked around and then he heard the crackling of bones followed by the most terrible pain he had every experienced in his life shot through his body. He yelled, his body withered with the crackling of the sound of bones. Last thing he saw before he blacked out was Mason's mouth and limbs elongating and everything started to become hazy.

Next time when he opened his eyes, he had a blanket on him and Mason was sitting opposite him fully clothed".

He asked "so now you believe me?".

Klaus got up and said in a shocked voice "no it cannot be".

Mason said "Niklaus the sooner you realize of the world you have just stepped in, the sooner you will accept it. The world of vampires, witches, werewolves".

Klaus said in shock _"you are kidding"._

Mason said "you are living in a city full of witches, vampires and werewolves. I have been traveling a lot in the past five years and I have found the biggest vampire population in New Orleans controlled by a Marcel Gerald. You must know him but what you dont know is that he is vampire. Rumor is that there used to be a pack based in New Orleans but I have not found it".

Klaus's let his mind absorbed all of this information for a second and then laughed and said "no he is not a vampire. Vampires are not real".

Mason said "A couple of hours ago you didnt believe in werewolves too but you are one now. He is a vampire and I am sure you must have witnessed things that have made you question about his reality but he then compelled you".

Klaus asked in confusion "compelled me?"

Masons said "Vampires can compel human but not other vampires, witches and triggered werewolves".

Klaus suddenly remembered Marcel telling him to forget about what Mason had told him and said "can he make me forget about things by saying stuff?"

Mason said "sure, anything. Compulsion is mind control but now that you are a triggered wolf, he will not be able to control your mind. But you have to be careful. Vampires and wolves are mortal enemies".

Klaus said "what do you mean?" still confused at what had happened.

For the next few days Mason told him everything about werwolves that he knew.

While Mason was telling him about werewolves Klaus realized that his problems were just starting as a thought occurred to him _'what was he going to do about Caroline? She cannot get married to a werewolf' . _

When he shared his concern with Mason, he said "dont think about it right now. Werewolves do get married. But eventually you have to tell her about it. Preferably before the wedding". He smiled by the end of the sentence making Klaus really mad.

After Mason left. for the next few weeks Klaus put his mind on his job to distract himself from everything that had been and the impending next full moon was haunting him. Every time Caroline called him or he called her, he felt like telling her everything but lost nerves. Mason had told him that he would come back for the next moon too until Klaus could control his transformation. With each passing day his agitation that he was not normal was increasing. The fact that he was a detective and he knew about this world; a world about vampires, killing humans, drinking their blood about which he couldn't do anything was not helping his already aggregated state of mind. Late at the night when he would lie in his bed thinking of the full moon and the pain during the transformation. He often end up thinking about the girl he raped and wondered if he was being punished for his crime?. He started observing Marcel and his men from distance remembering Mason's warning that vampires can sense werewolves but his caution was short lived as one day when he was at Lafayette Cemetery, Marcel walked to him and said "I wouldn't have believed it if I had not seen it for myself".

Klaus said "what?"

Marcel said with a smirk "first lesson. Vampires can sense who is what! It is like after your first transformation, your body was labelled and we vampires can see that label. So shooting that cop must have triggered your gene?"

Klaus said "apparently".

Marcel said with a smile "so now you know".

Klaus said "now I know but still trying to believe it".

Marcel said "what are you going to do? You being a detective and all".

Klaus shrugged his shoulder and rubbed the back of his neck and said "I dont know. Still working on that _tiny_ issue".

Marcel said "then you need to know New Orleans's world so that you know what you are dealing with".

By the time Marcel was done telling him about all the factions of New Orleans, their involvement in each other's life, vampires of French Quarter, witches of Lafayette Cemetery, the cursed Crescent wolves in the bayou he thought he would lose his mind. The biggest shock was to find out that the captain of his precinct was well aware of this world and he was working in collaboration with the leaders of human factions. He spend next couple of days digging into Crescent wolves history and observed them late in the night when he was off duty. Within a week he managed to find out everything about the Crescent wolves that he could, their birthmark, their royal legacy, their curse, everything. Often he felt like calling Elijah and telling him everything that had happened but he lost his nerves.

Before he knew it the next full moon was upon him and as promised Mason was back to help him with his transformation. During his second transition along with Mason he observed Crescent wolves turn into human, dance and sing around the fire they built. With each passing day working in his precinct he was getting more and more confused as to how to balance the law and the supernatural world. Often he looked at his captain and wondered _'how could he close his eyes to that world and be a detective at the same time'._ The feeling that he was not being honest with his job was making it impossible for him to do his job efficiently that even Alexis noticed his carelessness at one particular instance when he was supposed to read rights to a suspect but he forgot to say so. After careful deliberation, one night two weeks after his second transformation he decided to take a break from his job.

He went to his captain the very next day and said "I am having personal problems back home and I would like to have some time off".

Benson looked at him and said "Klaus you just came back from vacation".

Klaus controlled his annoyance which was ready to shoot out of him these days and said "I have to go Benson. Give me unpaid leave but i have to go".

Benson stared at him and then said "okay. how long?"

Klaus said "a month may be two".

His captain looked at him and then leaned in and said "you know the world you have stepped into is really dangerous".

Klaus looked at him and said "who told you?"

His captain said "I am in collaboration with the leaders of the human faction Klaus".

Klaus said "I assume that my secret is safe with you".

Benson nodded and said "yes".

Klaus left after saying "may be this break will do me good and give me new perspective".

**_7 weeks after trigger his gene: _**

Klaus stopped the car in his usual spot near the office building, took a deep breath and told himself to be careful and not spill anything to Elijah. Ten minutes later he entered the office and the first thing he saw was her empty chair. Seeing it empty brought on some relief and he went to his office.

As he opened the door Elijah looked up and gestured him to come in. Klaus went in and took the chair opposite the desk while Elijah continued to talk on the phone. He gestured him that it will take one more minute and then he said "perfect Mr. Samuel. Then we are done here. My secretary will contact you about the updates".

And then put the cradle down and said "when did you get here? Man you came after a month this time"

Klaus said "just now. Coming directly from the airport. How are you doing? seems like things are under control".

Elijah leaned back and said "yes. Things are good. Hayley is great. She helps a lot".

Klaus registered the use of her first name and said "so you both are on first name basis?!"

Elijah laughed and said "don't be absurd. She is not that kind of a girl".

Klaus said "and how would you know what type of girl is she? You have only been working with her for two months. She had an affair with father from which she managed to squeeze a lump sum of money for herself. When I think about it, I want to strangle her. I am surprised she is still working here". He tone changed to aggressiveness by the end of the sentence.

Elijah said shaking his head "about that…" when the door opened and he stopped talking.

Hayley took a deep breath, wiped her face and headed out of the bathroom. She picked up the file from her desk that she was going to give him before she had to run to the bathroom, fixed a smile on her face and went to his room. She said with a smile "Mr. Mikaelsons the deposition with …" and stopped.

Klaus looked towards her and saw the smile slipping from her face.

He said coldly "hello Ms Marshall".

Hayley gulped and controlled the sudden nausea she felt and said "Mr Mikalesons". She turned to Elijah and said "I am sorry I didn't know you had company" and turned to leave.

As she reached the door Elijah said "Hayley".

Hayley stopped and turned around and from his hand gesture she realized that she had not given him the file.

Klaus noticed red sneaking on her cheeks as she walked back and handed him the file and left.

She went to her desk, stood there for a second and then hurried towards the bathroom and started throwing up. After she was done, she washed her mouth and said in undertone "damn chemo". She dried her mouth and left the bathroom.

Elijah said "I have to dictate some notes to Hayley and then I have to talk to you about something really important regarding the will. Let me do that so she can type them before she leaves for home. After that we can go for lunch. Do you want to stick around?"

Klaus nodded wondering what Elijah wanted to discuss.

Elijah leaned back scanning the file "so how long are you staying this time?"

Klaus said "I have taken some personal time off".

Elijah looked up and said "_what?! you?!_ Personal time?! Are you feeling okay?"

Klaus laughed at his sarcasm and said "yes, I am taking personal time off. I have not had a proper break for what three years".

Elijah said "well good for you. Good to have you home and may be you can help me around too".

Klaus nodded his head as he saw Hayley entering the office again with the notepad and then smiled as he heard Elijah say "well Caroline will be over the moon for sure".

She heard him say "well Caroline will be over the moon for sure", wondered in confusion _'what are they talking about?'_ but went to sit on the sofa. She started writing down what Elijah was telling her and gave him her input. She could feel his eyes on her occasionally and that were just making her nervous and sick. She rubbed her hand against her pants and realized to her shock that she had not done this for almost two months.

Klaus leaned back on the sofa and picked up a book and started reading it but couldn't help glancing at her. There was something about her that was different, he noticed regardless of how angry he was at her. As he looked at her, he saw it - rubbing of the hand against her pants that for some reason infuriated him.

And then it hit him what was different about her - she has lost some weight. At that realization he straightened up in his seat when he heard Elijah say "so we are done? Don't forget about the party Andrew is throwing tomorrow".

Hayley suddenly smiled, making Klaus's knees go weak, and said "Mr. Mikalesons you are resilient".

Elijah laughed and said "I am the head of the office. I have to make sure everyone has fun and you deserve fun after the hours you put in and besides it is weekend tomorrow. Surely you can have one night to yourself".

Hayley smiled and said "I said I will try" and then left the office without looking at him leaving me confused further.

After she left Elijah said "how about we talk tomorrow in the morning".

He nodded and then said "I will be going then. I have not yet met Caroline. If she finds out that I came to see you first, she will throw a fit".

He left the room leaving Elijah smiling, looking down at his file.

Klaus spend the afternoon with his mother and his siblings. They were overjoyed to hear that he was home for at least one month.

After he left from his parents house he called Caroline. As the call connected he said "what are you doing?"

Caroline said "wishing that you were here".

Klaus smiled and said "and if I were?"

Caroline said with a sigh "even than I couldn't meet you. I have finales coming up next week. This fashion designing is not easy mister".

Klaus said "let me think. Law vs fashion designing…hmm .. yup you win" making her laugh bringing a smile to his lips. He continued "the good new is that you will be done with you college by the time we will be married".

He sat in the car and put her on the bluetooth and smiled as he heard her say "I will be free like a bird. I still cannot believe we still have around four months before the wedding".

Klaus said with a smile "be patient. I called to tell you that I am on unpaid leave for one month and I am in Mystic Falls".

He started the car and heard her say "unpaid, why?"

Klaus looked at the GPS from where her voice was coming with curiosity and asked "you are not happy that I am back?".

Caroline at once said "of course I am happy. I will be at the penthouse tonight".

Suddenly a strange feeling came over him and he said "not tonight. I have some work to do. Tomorrow?"

she said "sure. Love you".

Klaus smiled and said "love you too" and disconnected the call.

After putting the cell down he wondered _'why didnt he encourage her to come over?'_ and realized it was because of this new change in his life.

He went to sleep with difficulty that night and after many days he woke up with that nightmare. He got out of bed, lit the smoke and spend rest of the night awake thinking about his past, his present and future and what should he do with this new development in his life.

Around four in the morning he managed to get sleep only to be awaken by a call from Elijah at 10 am.

Half an hour later he he entered the Starbuck where Elijah had asked him to meet. After they settled down with their coffee, Elijah said "so here is the issue. It is about the will. Mother is very insistent that she will not give a penny to Hayley. In fact she wants to fire her from the company but Hayley needs the job and I cannot do that and she is a good worker. At what basis should I fire her".

Klaus said after pondering over the matter for a few seconds "I can understand mother's reaction". He paused for a moment and then said "so she had not still gotten the money?"

Elijah said with exasperation "no. Are you kidding me? The past seven weeks had been horrible. I don't want to fire her but mother is just being so adamant. I have suspicion that she needs the job. She borrowed quite a lot of money from the company".

Klaus said "for what?" curiously.

Elijah said "I don't know. I asked but she didnt want to tell and I didn't insist. But what are we going to do with this property issue. Mother even once told me that she will drag her to the courts if she has to"

Klaus sat up straight and said "what?"

Elijah said "yes but then I managed to persuade her from not doing that by reminding her the consequences of it on our reputation. And you know the one thing this family is proud of is its name".

Klaus thought for a moment and then said "why don't you transfer her to New Orleans office".

Elijah smiled and said "that is what I have been thinking. I wanted to discuss this with you but still property issue is still there".

Klaus said "that cannot be undone. What he has given her it is hers. We cannot not give her that. You and I both know that. And to think she does not know about it yet".

He was quiet for a second wondering '_if she needs money then why not take the job Jim Ackles was offering her? 10000 dollars is a lot of money'._


	6. Chapter 6 Lies and secrets

**_A/N : guest no she does not know that she is an untriggered wolf and of course about her daughter too. With the things he is discovering about himself he will start to question his ability to do his job. Thanks for the wonderful reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter too. and Joanna I will try to make the next chapter a bit longer. _**

**_Synopsis : Klaus finds out that he is in the middle of supernatural world. He explores his new abilities and uncovers some secrets about Hayley. _**

* * *

><p>Saturday afternoon after putting Hope to bed, Hayley settled down in her bed with a book; while she was reading it, she started twirling her hair. All of a sudden, she saw a couple of strands in her hand making her sit up. Her vision got blurry and the pit in her stomach just got bigger. She started at them absentmindedly. Breaking out of her trance, she decided to go out and have some fun. She went to the bathroom, took a quick shower, put on a dress after some deliberation. She put on the lip gloss, a light blush and fluffed her hair and groaned as some more strands of hair came in her hand. She put them in the trash bin, looked at herself in the mirror regretting her decision of go out. She looked at Amy who said "It is good you are going. It will do you good. You look beautiful".<p>

Hayley laughed and said "are you kidding me? I can see and feel how the chemo is affecting me; I'm losing my hair and my face looks paler".

Amy walked to her and said "come on. You know that you look beautiful. You have just lost some weight but other then that you look great and this color suits you. You should wear dresses more often".

Hayley smiled and said "so Hope is sleeping. I will be back by 11" hoping that will change the topic.

Amy smiled and said "don't worry. Go and have fun. Relax and unwind for once please".

Klaus looked around at the people mingling and spotted Elijah. He smiled and walked to him when he saw her across the room full of people standing in a corner. He stopped walking and looked at her. She was dressed in a champagne colored sleeveless silky dress with soft makeup on looking beautiful but nervous for some reason too. As he watching her, he saw her dart to one direction. His gaze followed her in confusion and at the same time he unconsciously started walking towards her. He saw her push the women restroom door open and went in. Klaus stopped there in confusion.

Hayley cursed herself for coming to the party while throwing up. At last she was done and walked out and stood in front of the mirror and stared at her and wondered _'when will those damn side effect end?' _She took a deep breath, spotted the bench, sat on it and then closed her eyes. .

Klaus stood there for a moment, then he turned and went to Elijah.

He was talking to Andrew about the stock market when he saw her talking to Elijah in a somber way and then Elijah nodded and lifted her hand and pressed it making making Klaus narrow his eyes as she smiled at him.

Klaus looked at her as she headed towards the exit. Startled he realized that Andrew was asking him something. He said "excuse me" and went after her.

She was standing out with the shawl over her shoulders and was waiting for the cab she had called thinking that she should not be driving when she he heard him say "so soon Ms Marshall".

Hayley closed her eyes controlling the dizziness taking over and turned to him bravely and said "I am just tired".

Klaus walked towards her but stopped in his track as she stepped back. Suddenly he felt very angry not knowing why and his gaze went to her palm brushing against her dress. He deliberately took a step forward and said "it seems you like working for my brother".

When she didn't answer he said "what is it about my brother that inspires instant admiration?"

Hayley said "He is kind to me".

Klaus smirked "yes _that I can see_. I see you have managed to get your loan form _him"_.

Hayley looked at him sharply and then her knees buckled.

Klaus was smirking when he saw her stumble. He instinctively held her arm which she jerked his hand away making him snap. He stepped forward and grabbed her arm and hissed "what is wrong with you? I was just helping you".

Hayley stepped back trying to pry her hand free "don't touch me".

Klaus hissed pulling at her arm "you don't have an issue with _my brother_ holding your arm" and then he saw it; the terror in her eyes and it took him by surprise so much so that it took him back five year to that stall.

While the past flashed though his mind, Hayley yanked her arm from his grip but he was holding it tight. She whispered as her eyes filled with tears "Mr. Mikaelsons please let me go" and yanked her arm again, this time managing to free him as he let it go.

Klaus stepped back and stared into the big brown eyes, gleaming with tears, in shock.

Hayley stepped back as a voice said "miss! you called for a cab".

She gulped her tears, looked at the taxi driver and nodded. She opened the door and sat in it and closed her eyes.

Klaus stared at the cab disappearing around the corner wondering _'her reaction! but this type of reaction … this type of reaction he has only seen in sexual assault cases'._

He startled when he heard a voice saying "what are you doing here?"

He looked at Elijah and said "I …" he looked in the direction again where the cab had disappeared and looking back at Elijah and said in the same confused state "I… I think I will leave" and headed towards his car leaving Elijah bewildered.

When he got home he went straight to bed and laid there staring at the ceiling unable to sleep. He suddenly felt someone in the room. From the smell of the perfume he knew who it was and a groan escaped his mouth surprising him. He wondered '_why did that happen?'_ and then it hit him _'because you suspect what you did to that girl five years ago happened to Hayley Marshall to at some point in her life'._

He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt her touch him and lean in to kiss him. The touch of her soft lips on his suddenly made him nauseated by himself. He brushed her aside and darted to bathroom ignoring Caroline's "Klaus" and closed the door behind him.

By the time he came out she was still in the room. He said "Caroline I am not in a mood today".

Caroline walked to him, placed a hand on his chest and said "what happened?"

Klaus said "nothing just want to sleep. Can you please leave me alone? I want to be alone".

He brushed his lips lightly against hers, gently removed her hand from his chest and went to lie on the bed. Caroline stood there for a moment and then left.

HE laid in his bed unable to forget her reaction and then he remembered Caroline telling him about her parents and that she was a runaway. What happened to her! The thought of that and the memory of the blurry face with tears streaming down her, made him in feel very uneasy He managed to get a shut eye after tossing and turning for a while.

Klaus woke up late next morning but didnt get up and kept on looking at the ceiling. The image of Caroline wanting to make out with him flashed through his mind and he groaned. He wondered _'what is happening to him? HE used to love her company'. _He said to himself_ "Used to?! he still does but then what happened?"_

A voice answered _'Does it have anything to do with him begin a werewolf now?' _

Out of blue a thought came to his mind _'does he have anything to do with what happened with Hayley last night?' _The thought surprised him and he wondered what might have happened to her. He closed his eyes again while thinking of her and didn't know when he went to sleep. Next time when he opened his eyes it was almost midday. He took a long shower to clear his mind, changed his clothes and decided to go meet Stefan. As he reached his house, he saw him getting out of the car. Klaus smiled and walked to him.

Stefan looked at Klaus and said to Elena "I will be back" and went to meet him. He gave him a fleeting hug and then he knew.

Klaus saw the smile slip from his lips and asked "what happened?"

Stefan stepped back with sighed and asked with pursing his lips "so you triggered you gene?"

Klaus said "but…" and then recalled Mason's telling him '_vampires can sense triggered wolves'_.

He stepped back and said in shock "no, It cannot be. You cannot be a vampire".

Stefan said "since the day you joined the academy, I knew this day would come".

Klaus said "you knew about our family".

Stefan sighed and said "yes, we have been around for sometime and yes Lockwoods are an old wolf pack except for the last generation which didn't trigger their gene well except for Mason Lockwood".

Klaus recovered from initial shock thinking _'how come his sanity is still intact?!' _but he answered himself 'because you are part of this world now and you being a cop is accepting it' and asked "so you and Damon are vampires! What do you mean by around some time? How long?"

Stefan looked at the house and said casually "around 150 years".

Klaus stared at him in shock and said "you mean to tell me that you have been _alive 150 years?!_"

Then he added before Stefan could say anything else "but I never saw any unusual thing around your house".

They both turned around when they heard Damon say sarcastically "well Stefan is alive on animal blood and as for me it is not as if I go on a killing spree every day".

Klaus looked at Damon's smirk and knew if he had a gun he would have shot him at this admittance of killing.

He looked at both of them when Stefan said "I think you should go Elena is coming".

Klaus looked towards Elijah walking towards them and said in shocked voice "is she?"

Damon smirked and said proudly "yes, I sired her".

Klaus looked at him with annoyance, at his proud admittance and turned and left after saying "we need to talk about it and _Damon, _if I find out you are killing innocents to quench your thirst for blood then you …" and went to his car.

He sat in his car in frustration wondering what kind of situation had he gotten himself and for the millionth time he wondered_ 'can he be an honest cop anymore?'_

He drove home absentmindedly thinking about what he had found out what Stefan, Elena and Damon and wondered how many more people are vampires and are there any werewolves in Mystic Falls too - the triggered werewolves. He stopped the car outside his parents house when the passenger door opened and Elijah got in. After buckling himself he said "lets go".

He looked at Elijah with annoyance but said "where?"

Elijah said "I need to pick up my laptop from repairs in Best buy".

He looked at Elijah after a few seconds but saw him lost in thoughts. He asked "what happened?"  
>Elijah said after considering his question for a moment "I am thinking of talking to Hayley about moving to to New Orleans as soon as possible. I can give her a severance package, so she can start looking for a new job here or there while she continues working for me, but if she gets a job offer she can leave".<p>

Klaus didn't know what to say but to his surprise he suddenly felt bad for her.

Elijah looked at him after some time and said "you look lost. What is it? Missing the job already?"

Klaus forced himself to relax and said with frustration "not really. It is just the wedding and the preparation getting on my nerves".

Hayley said to Hope "Hope hurry up honey. We will miss our bus".

Hope picked up her dvd and said "done".

She paid for it at the counter, held her hand and headed towards the door when she bumped into a hard rock body.

Klaus looked at Elijah and turned towards him and pushed the door open with his back and said "so you don't remember anything about grandpa".

And bumped into someone. He turned towards the person whom he had bumped into and said "I am sor…ry" as she uttered "I am sorry. I was not ..…". Their eyes met and didnt finish their sentences.

Elijah looked at Hayley and smiled and said "Hayley! Excuse my brother's manners. He often thinks that his eyes are at the back of his head. How are you feeling now?"

Hayley felt as if someone had poured cold water her. She unconsciously squeezed Hope's hand who screamed "_oww mommy you are hurting me_" making Klaus's eyes dart to the child as Hayley say "sorry baby".

Klaus looked at the child in shock and wondered _'how did he not know that she had a child? Is it his fathers?' _but as soon as the question came in his mind he realized that he was wrong. She had only been working for his father for three years. He looked at Elijah in surprise who said "hello Hope".

His heart jumped a beat when she smiled showing the cutest dimples he had eve seen and snuggled closer to her mother's legs and said shyly "good Mr Mikaelsons".

Elijah bend down and said "so what is this?"

He looked at Hayley who was looking very nervous which he knew was because of him. He saw her open her mouth to say something when Hope chipped in "it is mommy's birthday today. Mommy said _I _could get any cartoon movie I want. I got Frozen".

She showed Elijah the DVD excitedly and then added "have you sawed it?" bringing a smile to Elijah's lips.

Hayley automatically said "Hope slowly".

Elijah shook his head, took the Dvd from her hand and said "well first of all a very good happy birthday to your mommy and secondly no I have not _seen_ it. I need to watch it. It looks very interesting. Tell me Hope how old is mommy turning today". He winked at the end of the sentence.

Hope suddenly giggled making Klaus more tense for some reason. She looked up at her mother and said shyly "I don't know".

Hayley could feel his eyes on her and she was feeling dizzier by the minute but she refused to look at him. She said "let go Hope. I will see you in the office Mr. Mikealsons".

Elijah and Klaus stepped aside and Hayley and Hope left the store.

While Elijah went to get his laptop, he started thinking about her and wondered '_why does she behave that way with him and not with Elijah'_.

He looked at Elijah who was checking his laptop and nodded.

He backed up the car when Elijah said "stop".

He got out and darted to one direction. Klaus got out in surprise and went after him and then he saw her sitting on the bench and Hope standing next to her.

As he approached them he heard Hope say "mommy not well…" but Hayley said "I am fine. Just feeling dizzy. I am fine Mr. Mikealsons".

Elijah said dismissively "Elijah. Come I will drop you home. You cannot drive the car in this condition".

Before she could say anything Hope said "car broken".

Elijah said "again?! Come on Hayley. You need to get it fixed properly or get a new one. Lets go. I will drop you at home".

Klaus noticed her wiping her mouth and wondered _'how come Elijah knows so much about their personal life? and how come she does not snap at Elijah when she snapped at him and Tyler for prying about her personal information'_ . Out of blue he remembered her telling him that Elijah was kind to him and seeing Elijah's behavior with her and Hope he understood what she meant.

Hayley looked at him with hesitation but the wave of nausea suddenly started from her stomach and was getting stronger by the second and she cursed her chemo once again and reluctantly nodded.

When they reached the car Elijah opened the front door for her but she said "I will sit in the back with Hope. She does not have a carseat" and opened the door and sat down.

He was driving silently lost in thoughts when his thoughts were suddenly interrupting by the sound of cell ringing. He looked toward Elijah who said after a moment of listening to the other side "okay I will be there in five minutes".

He put the cell down and said "Niklaus drop me at the office. Andrew managed to get hold of Samuelson and they want to meet right now".

Elijah turned towards Hayley and said "Niklaus can drop you Hayley. Just give him your address".

Hayley felt trapped from all sides thinking of her sickness and the prospect of traveling alone with him. She said after a moment of hesitation "it is okay Mr. Mikealsons. May be your bother wants to attend the meeting with you. I can go by bus. Just drop me at the bus".

Klaus looked at her through the rearview mirror and saw her biting her lips. Seeing her had reminded him of his suspicion of what had happened to her and he wondered for the first time ever of knowing her putting aside his anger at her and dwelled upon her behavior towards him. His training at the academy, three years of service and this recent suspicion about which he was quite certain were forcing him to question himself _'is she scared of him?'_ He was wondering about it, when Elijah interrupted his thoughts by saying "no, Niklaus is not to attend this meeting".

Klaus dropped Elijah outside the building and started the car. He asked her "where do you live Ms Mikaelsons?"

Hayley gulped which didnt go unnoticed by Klaus who was looking at her from rearview mirror. She murmured "Damn it" which his newly sharp hearing picked up clearly and then said clearly "West baker street. Apartments Avalon community".

Klaus put the address in the GPS and turned the car in that direction. After a couple of minutes of silence he looked at her and saw her looking out of the window. He controlled the urge to ask her about her rape but he thought _'her daughter is sitting with her'_. He looked at her int he rare view mirror again and wondered if he should ask her _'if she was scared of him? why does she behave that way with him?' _

He was lost in his thought when she said "turn left from here".

Klaus took a left turn when she asked him "what is you name?"

He raised himself up and looked through the rearview mirror at the child snuggled closed to her mom and said with a smile "Klaus".

Hayley looked towards him and their eyes met just for a second in the rearview mirror and she looked away. He asked "why didn't I know you had a daughter? I had been asking you to put long hours. You could have told me that that you had a small child to go home to"

Hayley said "I didn't feel the need to tell you Mr. Mikalesons".

He was about to say something when Hope chipped in "his name is _Klaus _mommy not Mr. Mikealsons".

Hayley said tucking the lose hair behind her ear "he is my boss. I cannot call him by his name".

Hope said excitedly "can I?"

Klaus suddenly realized that he was smiling.

He said "sure you can".

She said "you can stop here".

Hayley got out of the car with Hope and then swallowed her pride and said "thank you Mr. Milkealsons. You had to come out of way to drop me".

Klaus just looked at her face which was really pale now when she said to Hope "Hope say thank you to Mr. Mikaelsons".

Hope smiled and said shyly "thank you Klaus".

He smiled and said "bye" whereas Hayley held Hope's hand and walked away as he pulled the car on the road.

After he reached his penthouse he took out his cell and called Stefan. As the call connected he said "I need to meet you".

Stefan said "sure, come to my place around 5".

After putting the cell down Klaus realized that he still had 4 hours to pass. He looked around his room wondering what he should do. To his surprised he starting thinking about Hayley. His training and sense of responsibility were telling him to talk to her and if in fact she _was_ raped, the culprit should be caught. He felt really frustrated at himself wondering _'why was he getting so emotionally involved with a girl who had an affair with his father?'_

He took a deep breath and starting thinking about his life. He had still not thought about the impact this becoming a werewolf will have on his life. He started talking to himself_ 'What about his job? Can he do the job efficiently being a wolf? What if someone finds out? What if Caroline finds out? Should he and Caroline be together any more considering that he is a werewolf? Should he tell her and Elijah. His family, what will happen to them? He should warn them because they are at a risk of becoming werewolves too"._

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and told himself "but nothing much has changed really except for becoming wolf every full moon. Surely that cannot be bad".

A voice told him "what about your abilities that you will start to exhibit gradually even if you are not a human".

He stopped pacing and wondered "hmmm he should explore them".

He looked around and walked to the bathroom door. He turned the knob but nothing happened. He took a breath and applied a little pressure and almost at once chuckled as the knob broke and came into his hand. He looked around and then walked to the small balcony and looked out and wondered '_should he jump and see if he can get hurt, Oh he should check his healing ability'_. He walked back and went to the small kitchenette and picked up a knife. He looked a his hand and put a small cut on the palm. He stared at it but nothing happened. He put the knife down cleaned the blood with a kitchen towel and stared at the bite marks which suddenly took his thoughts to that girl and for some reason to Hayley. He put the towel in the bin angrily and walked out of the kitchen. He went to the bathroom, opened the medicine cabinet and took out a bandage. He was about to put it on but to his surprise he saw no mark there. He smiled and said to himself "_now that _is a good ability".

He went back to his room and fell on the bed after picking up a book. He didn't know when he fell asleep. Next time when he opened his eyes, it was four. He got up, freshened himself and left for Stefan's. He spend the afternoon with Stefan who told him everything about the founder fathers, his and Damon's history and their family connection; how Tyler's father really died. In addition, they talked about how Elena became a vampire and her brother a vampire hunter. Klaus was absorbing all the information wondering '_how could he be so calm and how come all these was happening right under his nose and he had no clue_'. The fact that it was happening to most of the people he knew from childhood was really disturbing him.

He suddenly jumped up as a thought occurred to him and asked "If Elena is a vampire, does that mean Caroline is one too?"

When Stefan didn't answer Klaus slowly stood up and said in a barely audible voice "but…" He felt so lost that he didnt know what to say.

Stefan got up and said "now you know. What are you going to do?".

Klaus said "if she is vampire then she knows by now that I am a werewolf right".

Stefan said "yes".

Klaus wondered _'why didnt she say anything?' _

He looked around as heard Damon say "ooo trouble in paradise" and saw Damon drinking the scotch with a smirk on his face. He shook his head in disbelief. He was about to leave the house, but stopped and asked "did she know about my family history?"

Stefan nodded after a second making him groan. He said "bloody hell". and left their house.

During the drive to his penthouse he kept wondering about Caroline and trying to accept the fact that she was a vampire and knew that he was a werewolf. He suddenly wondered _'is that the reason she didn't want him to work as a detective?' _

He got out of his car and went to his penthouse feeling frustrated, angry and confused. After pacing in his room for half an hour he picked up his phone and called Elijah. But after a couple of rings he disconnected even before Elijah could attend the phone. He put the cell down and fell on the bed and closed his eyes and didn't know when he went to sleep.

While Klaus's world was turning upside down Hayley was walking around cleaning Hope's room and listening to her jibber jabber absentmindedly. Her mind was on Klaus and was wondering why was he so kind to her today. She looked past and wondered '_did something happen to make him change his mind towards her'_ and then her mind went to their conversation in that lobby while she was waiting for her cab. She tried not to think of his reaction when she had almost pleaded him to let her go but she could ignore the fact that even in that distress she saw shock on his face. She put he hand on her shoulder and hoped that he had not seen that mark.

She went to the kitchen and made nuggets for Hope and a turkey sandwich for herself and wondered _'where Amy was? Was she with Tyler?_ If Amy were not helping her in this situation what would she have done" and then sighed as she thought 'she had not paid Amy yet'.

After dinner, she cleaned the kitchen and went to her room. She wrote a cheque and then after a thought she settled Hope in her own bed and smiled when she gleed. After Hope had gone to sleep she went to take a long relaxing shower.

While she was changing her clothes, she looked at the scar on her breast, ran fingers in her hair and groaned when a few more strands came off. She wondered 'if she will get bald'. The thought just brought a lump in her throat.

She shook her head and said "don't think about it too much. Think about something else, perhaps your work. You need to get up early tomorrow. Oh God it is Monday. you have a week to go. Hopefully will not see Klaus Mikaelsons".

She changed into a soft cotton night pajamas and came out and went to sleep.

Next morning when she woke up, Hope was snuggled against her. She detangled herself from her making her stir and say "mommy".

Hayley kissed her hair and said "mommy has to go to office Hope. Amy will be home".

After changing her clothes, putting on a light make to make her pale skin a bit lively, brushing her hair, she went out.

She smiled as she saw Amy already up making coffee. She asked her "so how was the date night?"

Amy smiled and said "good".

Hayley handed her the cheque and said "I am sorry I was late this time".

Amy said to her "don't worry about it. I know you have a lot going on and it must have slipped your mind"

Hayley smiled, poured herself a coffee and left for office.

When Klaus entered the office around 11 still distressed about what he had discovered about Caroline and his own secret, he saw Elijah in the conference room talking to some client while Hayley was taking notes. He stopped and looked at her face. Looking at her he realized that he still needed needs to talk to her about his rape suspicion.

Half an hour later, he looked up from his lying position on the sofa as he saw Elijah walking in saying "so Desmon is agreeing to 10 million. I think it is a good deal. He will take it" followed by Hayley at his heal.

She stopped as she saw him lying on the sofa reading a book. Their eyes met for a second and then she turned to Elijah and said "Mr. Mikaelsons, Johnson called from your New Orleans office when you were out. He wanted to talk about some case. He said it was urgent. Your 3 o' clock is moved to now 5 o'clock and your mother called".

Klaus couldn't help but admire her wavy hair reaching below her shoulder. While he was admiring them, she touched her neck and turned around. Their eyes met and he clearly saw her getting tensed up. He wondered '_what was about him that made her so tense around him?'_

Hayley turned back to Elijah with racing heart and said "anything else Mr. Mikealsons?"

Elijah picked up the phone and dialed Johnson's number and said "no thank you".

After she left the office he put his head on the sofa and laid down again thinking '_why she reacts that way with him and is normal with every one else'_.

He startled when he heard Elijah say "so do you want to go for lunch?"

Klaus said "no, I am not hungry. What did Johnson say?"

Elijah said with frustration "He faxed me Stenson's case file. Remember the case you were supposed to come to New Orleans. James Stenson has been caught in art theft, _his family is now suing him. Now I need to go through _the case we closed. Do you want to look at it while I go and have lunch with our mother? She wants to discuss the will".

Klaus smirked and asked "again?"

Elijah said "she is not budging. I have had my share of difficult clients Niklaus but this one is different".

Klaus laughed at this frustration in-spite of the anguish at Caroline and his situation. He said "this is your true test Harvard graduate?! She is not a client that is why you are having hard time from her. Did you tell her that we cannot take it to the court. What he has left her we cannot take it from her. and you thought there was nothing between them".

Elijah shrugged his shoulders and said "I don't get it. Why would he leave her so much money? She does not seem like that sort of girl. You have been seeing her for the past week too, besides you have worked with her. Did she ever give you the impression that she was that sort of girl?"

Klaus felt like saying "yes" but deep in his heart he knew that he would be lying if he said that. When he kept quiet Elijah sighed and said "okay I am off. Look at the file Johnson is sending".

Klaus nodded and went to lie too.

Elijah said while heading towards the door "Niklaus this is office not your bedroom" bringing a smile to Klaus's lips. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest.


	7. Ch 7 Secrets have a way of coming out 1

**_A/N: hi, thnaks for the wonderful reviews. I am sorry I am not posting as quick as I used to. I have family visiting and am not getting time to write. But I promise I will keep on posting. but it will at least take 2-3 days between chapters. I promise I will finish this story. I hope you like this chapter too. I made this chapter a little longer to make up for posting it late :)_**

**_Synopsis: Hayley's secrets are not secrets anymore. Klaus is starting to have doubts about his relationship with Caroline. Stefan tells him something that will make him further confused about Caroline and him. _**

* * *

><p>Klaus spend the next few days wondering how to handle the complicated situation he had gotten himself into. Knowing that Caroline was a vampire on top of his own secret was turning out too much for him. He would often pace in his room at night time wondering what is in store for his and Caroline's future. He was constantly thinking about his doubt over his future with Caroline. This line of thought had started to confuse him a lot as he realized that he was having types of thoughts a lot; thoughts about doubts about their future. He often asked himself if he was being selfish considering that his doubts about his future weren't that strong when he didn't know she was a vampire, so what changed?! Every day he would control his urge to confront her about their secret. The fact that she was not confiding in him or confronting him about his true nature was really starting to bother him. Twice he decided to call her to tell her about himself but then a voice in his head said to him "she has been vampire for God knows how long and didn't confide in you so why should you".<p>

Before he knew it two weeks went by. During this time Caroline contacted him a couple of times finding time during her exams and dance classes but he made excuses and didn't encourage the meeting which took him by surprise too. With each passing day, he knew that they needed to put all cards on the table but he had also realized from her behavior during their phone conversations that she was not ready to face the truth. Late at night when he would lay in his bed staring the ceiling, various thoughts would haunt his mind - thoughts _about 'Can they now get married? Can vampire or werwolves for that matter even marry? What kind of life would they have if they get married?. Aren't vampires immortal or something?_ 'The more he thought about it the more their marriage was starting to look impossible to him.

One thing he was sure of was that the doubts he was having about their future was not because he didnt love her anymore. In fact it was very painful for him to even consider that he might not have a future with her. For some reason even finding out that she was a vampire had not affected his feelings for her which took him by surprise. But Mason's sentence 'vampires and werewolves dont like each other" would take him back to zero and he would wonder how will things work out.

When he would get really swarmed with thoughts he would go spend time with Elijah to help him out with his cases or just talk to him but as a result he ended up spending time with Hayley too. The more time he spend with her, the more he observed her. He couldn't help but feel that his attitude towards her was changing, becoming friendlier. He often wondered while looking at her was it because of what he suspected about her past. He also realized that he was not angry at her anymore for having share in his father's property or for having an affair with him. He often walked onto her while she was lost in thoughts and hence startled her which for some reason bothered him a lot. There were times Elijah, him and her were having a case discussion and Elijah had to step out of the office for some reason leaving them alone but before he could say anything she would excuse herself too leaving him confused too.

He thought about his job a lot too- whether he can continue it as a werewolf, whether he can keep the supernatural world of New Orleans a secret. Often he felt like discussing his problem with Elijah but that meant reveling things to him that he was not ready to reveal or Elijah ready to find out. Elijah on the other hand noticed his absentmindedness at many occasions but when a lot of emphasis he didn't tell him, he let go.

While Klaus was trying to distract by coming to the office every day, Hayley was getting tensed up by his presence. In the beginning it was just for a few hours but she noticed that with passage of time he was spending most of his day in Elijah's office reading a book, lying down on the couch or discussing a case with him. She felt like screaming at him, fighting at him for putting her in this situation. She realized that she had never even considered the possibility that she would be spending time in the company of her rapist and how difficult it would be seeing him everyday. She also realized that it was starting to affect the calmness of her mind but she also knew that it was his office and she had no other option. The more she tried to avoid him the more she had to spend time with him because he was now sitting in the meetings with their clients too and he had surprised her by his kindness, sense of humor, friendliness, sense of nobility. She often wondered when lying on her bed late at night _'Is he the same man you forced himself on her ignoring all her pleas. Why was he so hard on her when he took over the office for that one week after his father died?'_ and then would go to sleeping thinking '_may be because his father died and he was taking it hard'. _

Even though she had observed a change in his attitude towards her, it didnt make her feeling any less agitated by his presence in the office. She thought _'It was not as if she could leave this job considering with her cancer condition and all. She cannot do anything about it except to learn to coexist in the same space'_ so she focused all her attention to staying calm in front of him. There were days when she felt as if he wanted to talk to her about something but before he could she would excuse herself and leave the office. There were time when she could feel his eyes on her but she refused to look at him. There were days when she was not feeling well but she couldn't tell Elijah to take an early leave because of him being there. On those days after reaching home she would wonder _'why didnt she just ask Elijah to leave early? it was not an issue when Klaus was not in the office so why is she now hesitating in asking for a holiday or a half day?' _

At home Hope had started to guess that something was wrong with her. She was getting too clingy, fussy and at times stubborn. Hayley figured that she was demanding her attention. the more she wanted to spend time with her, the more she could sometimes because of her health and sometimes because of her job. She thought with frustration '_how could she not guess something was wrong with her mother, she spends half her time in bathroom throwing up'. _These days she was really frustrated as the date to have her second chemo was approaching fast and she was still short of three thousand dollars. She had decided that she was going to ask the loan from the company but now that Klaus was spending all the time in the company, she realized that she was not getting an opportunity to ask him.

A week before the chemo she was brewing her coffee when Amy came out and said "hey did you get the loan?"

Hayley said "no, I have not. I am thinking of talking to Mr Mikaelsons today".

Amy said "hey I have some money. You can borrow that and when you have money you can return it to me".

Hayley said with a smile "that is very sweet Amy. I will get some don't worry but thanks for the offer".

After reaching the office she went in Elijah's office and after straightening his desk she turned around and saw Klaus standing there. She gulped and said "good morning Mr. Milkealsons. You are early today".

Klaus said casually "yes Elijah had to go to New Orleans office yesterday so I am taking over here"

Hayley felt her heart sink and she asked "to New Orleans? for how long?"

Klaus noticed her face getting pale and said in a deliberate slow voice "for a week. Is there a problem".

Hayley's heart continued to sink and she wondered '_what is she going to do about loan sanction now? If she asks Amanda Klaus will find out and she does not want her to know about this new loan. Already he is upset about her previous loan'_ but then out of blue Hope's smiling face flashed through her eyes and she said "no nothing is wrong. Do you want your coffee now?"

Klaus nodded and walked to his desk even thought he didn't feel satisfied by her answer.

A couple of minutes later he looked at the coffee she put on his desk and looked up at her standing with the notepad in her hand. He leaned back and asked "Ms Marshall. Can I ask you something ?"

Hayley gulped and said "yes".

Klaus stared at her for a few seconds wondering how to ask her about his suspicion. Then he thought _'may be he will be able to get something from how her feelings for him'_ so he asked "are you afraid of me?"

Hayley was embracing herself for the worst but hearing this from him took her by surprise and she abruptly said "what?!"

Klaus leaned forward, folded his arms on the table and asked "are you afraid of me?"

Hayley said now starting to feel nervous "why do you ask that?"

Klaus said with a slight hint of smile "from the way you act around me".

Hayley said "I…" she felt lost for words and saw to her surprise his face getting pale. She was surprised to realize that seeing him pale didn't give her any pleasure. In fact she felt bad for him so she muster up the courage and said slowly "no, if I have given you that impression then I am sorry".

She paused for a moment hoping that her answer had satisfied him but she realized that the damage was done. She hastily said "you remind me of my old boyfriend. We didn't get along well".

Klaus continued to look at her unable to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. In that short span of time he had realized, from his experience as a detective, that she was lying and that just made everything she had just said much worse.

Hayley didnt know what to say so she said "Mr. Mikaelsons I have the schedule for your brother. Will you be covering him?"

Klaus took a deep breath to distract himself from that pit in his stomach and said "yes" now taking his eyes off of her.

Hayley looked at him with pity realizing that he knew she was lying to him and was shocked and confused to realize that she was feeling bad for him.

She cleared her mind and said trying to sound normal " you have a meeting at 11 with Anderson and Andrew about the Liberty Mutual case and then at 3 you have a late lunch with your mother".

Klaus said without looking at her "that will be all Ms Marshall. Thank you".

After she left he stared in the space wondering '_why is she scared of him? Was his behavior when he first took over towards her that bad? that is really insulting and offensive that she was scared of him and for no apparent reason. He is a detective and should be able to find out what is the reason behind all of this'._

Later that night as he laid in his bed he recalled his lunch date with his mother and her hatred for Hayley which had taken him by surprise. He realized that even thought he didnt like her but that much hatred had bothered him too. He wondered if he should tell Elijah about her persistent demand of firing Hayley but then decided to tell him when he will come back.

For the next two days Klaus and Hayley spend a lot of time together in the meetings, during the discussions about the cases but Hayley noticed that he rarely looked at her. Mostly he would be pacing in the room while giving her notes or discussing a case. Klaus on the other hand was feeling really trapped between knowing how scared she is from him and how much Esther hates her and wants her gone from the office.

After she had gone home on wednesday he was thinking about her to his surprise when the door opened and Amanda entered the room. She said "Good evening Mr. Mikealsons. Ms Marshall asked for two thousand dollars today. Should I sanction her?"

Klaus looked at her and said "yes" to his surprise.

Amanda said "okay".

She turned and left and he wondered _'why does she need so much money? Asking for loan twice in three months is not to sneeze at. Are we not paying her enough? May be it is difficult to make ends meet. after all she has a daughter. May be she should get a raise". _

He got up and left for his penthouse.

Next day when Hayley reached the office, he was already there. She gave him his coffee and told him about his daily agenda and was somewhat disappointed when he show any sign of communication. After going back to her desk she checked her email and was shocked to read the email from Amanda telling her that her loan had been sanctioned. She looked around and saw him sitting on his chair reading a file.

He looked up for some reason and saw her looking at him. Their eyes met and then he broke the contact.

Klaus was writing a plea agreement when the door opened. He asked without looking at her "what is it Ms Marshall?"

Hayley cleared her throat and said "I wanted to thank you for the loan you sanctioned".

Klaus looked up and said "your welcome".

She turned to leave when Klaus said after a moment of deliberation "Ms Marshall!"

Hayley turned slowly and said "yes Mr Mikaelsons".

Klaus asked with some hesitation "is everything okay at your house?"

Hayley felt her heart sink and said "yes".

Klaus stared at her face again clearly sensing the lie but chose not to say anything. When he nodded, she turned and left.

For the next three days he noticed her lost on occasions but she was doing her job well. Elijah was supposed to come back on Monday and he was supposed to wrap up the case by Friday so he was working late into the night but he was unable to. He thought his apprehension about the coming full moon on Saturday was causing the hinderance but then he realized that it was not just that, it was everything. Caroline, Hayley, his job. He even ended up spending nights in the office only to be awakened by Hayley just before the people started coming to the office. He often wondered where would he go to transform on Saturday and by Saturday evening he knew where he would go.

On Saturday evening he was driving towards the dungeons when he impulsively called Stefan and asked "want to have an adventurous night?"

He smiled as he heard him say "must be adventurous for you if you roam in the forest and howl but I don't imagine you being adventurous if you are chained to the ground. As for me I am up for a show".

Klaus said bitterly "it is not as much fun as it sounds. Any way I will pick you up in ten minute".

Stefan watched as Klaus started chaining himself to the hooks attached on the floor of the cell.

Klaus said "hypothetical question. How can a relationship between a vampire and a werewolf work?"

Stefan said sarcastically while giving him the chain "well considering werewolf bite is lethal to the vampire, I would see it needs _some work"_.

Klaus clamped his wrist in the cuffs and asked "what do you mean werewolf bite? In the human form or the wolf form?"

Stefan walked towards the door and said "both".

Klaus put the cuff around his anklet and thought '_that is interesting but a potential problem in their love making'. _

Stefan asked casually "does Caroline know that you know about her?"

Klaus shook his head.

Stefan asked casually "what are you waiting for?".

Klaus said with irritation "how do you supposed I talk to her about something like this?"

Stefan said "well first of all you are a detective not to mention a lawyer. If any one should know how to talk to someone about an unbelievable topic it can be you only and second and most importantly I am a bad person to take advice from in this regard. I dont think there is any easy way of talking to her about it. The thing about Caroline is that she has accepted herself as a vampire after being in denial for a very short while but she wants to be normal while being a vampire. In wanting for that to happen she ignores the fact that she is a vampire. If you are waiting for her to bring up the topic then she wouldn't. You will have to talk to her about it".

Klaus laughed but it was short lived as he felt the first bone break and his body withered with pain.

Stefan looked at him curiously seeing his body wither and twist with pain and limbs elongating causing him to yell in pain and closed the door and stepped outside in the corridor. He leaned against the wall observing him being transform.

The last thing Klaus remembered was turning towards Stefan who was looking through the bars on the door of the cell and he growled in pain.

While Klaus was preparing for the full moon, Hayley was preparing for her second chemotherapy. She walked into the hospital cursing her cancer and her complicated life. As she sat in the waiting room for Dr. Ackles to come, her mind kept on wandering towards Hope. Her innocent face, big bluish brown eyes and those dimples. That smile, that face were the reason she was fighting for her life, finding the courage to get up every morning and drag herself out of bed even though she just wanted to crawl into a corner and spend the rest of her life there. She startled as she heard Jim Ackles saying "hello Hayley, lets go".

Next morning as he transformed back, Stefan stood up from the floor where he was sitting while doing something on his computer and said "I have had my share of seeing werewolf transformations but it is always very fascinating to see them transform".

Klaus pulled on the pair of pants he had brought with him and said with annoyance "easy for you to say. Your bones are not breaking".

Stefan laughed and said "touche ".

Klaus buttoned up his shirt and said "about what you told me before I transformed, what will happen if I accidentally bite her"

Stefan said "as I said lethal. She can die, slow and agonizing death. I mean vampires are immortal otherwise but this can kill us gradually".

Klaus put his shoes on and asked "who turned her?"

Stefan said "it was a same vampire who sired me and Damon, Katherine Pierce".

Klaus asked "why?"

Stefan said casually "well she was bored apparently. It happened two summers ago. Caroline was injured badly and she had Damon's blood in her system to cure her. If a human being dies with a vampire's blood in her or his system they come back as vampires. That is what happened with her"

Klaus asked while joining Stefan to walk out of dungeon "who is Katherine Peirce?"

By the time they reached Stefan's house, he had told him everything about Katherine Pierce. After dropping Stefan home, he went to his penthouse after picking up something to eat from McDonalds.

He realized that he was really hungry after his transition and then he remembered the same thing happening last time too. He wondered if the transformation somehow increasing his appetite. He also realized that his favorite burger was not his favorite anymore. He stared at the beef petty but then continued to eat it as he heard a loud rumbling from his stomach.

After entering his room, he fell on his bed without changing his clothes and went to sleep.

A few hours later he woke up and after staring at the ceiling he thought he should call Caroline. Stefan was right they need to talk about it. HE picked up his cell and dialed her number but the bell kept on ringing and no one picked up the phone. He got up, freshened himself and left the penthouse. As he was driving randomly he decided to wrap up the case he was working on so he turned his car towards the office.

As he entered the office building he greeted the man sitting behind the desk and headed towards their floor.

He went straight to the office and sat behind the desk and started looking around for the file but couldn't find it. He got up and went to her desk but it was not there too. He wondered 'did she take it home?'

After a couple of moments of deliberating whether he should contact her or not and then he thought that if he called her it would spook her. He dialed Elijah's cell.

As the call connected he asked Elijah "does Ms Marshall take files home too?"

Elijah said "yes sometimes".

Klaus groaned and said "I think she might have taken Davis's file home".

Elijah said causally "so what is the issue? Go and get it".

Klaus nodded and said "yes apparently that is what I am going to do".

After disconnecting the call with Elijah he looked at his phone thoughtfully thinking _'should he call her?'_

At last he decided to call her. As he was holding for her to pick up the cell, the door to the office opened and Caroline entered the the office. She walked to him and kissed him. As she linked her arms around his neck Klaus said "Caroline just a second I am on the phone" but the bell kept ringing and no one picked up her cell.

He suddenly got really agitated and thought in anger _'what is her problem? if it were Elijah she would have answered. Being scared of me does not mean that she is allowed to act childishly'. _

He put the cell in his jeans, got up angrily and said to Caroline "I have to go love but I need to talk to you about something important".

He kissed her and left his office without waiting for a response.

Half an hour later he climbed the stairs and then looked around and pressed the bell and waited patiently for her to come out.

A couple of minutes later the door opened and a young girl came out. He said "I think I am at the wrong.." but stopped talking as a young child peeked her head out saying "who is it?"

She looked at Hope who yelled excitedly "Klaus".

She said in surprise "you know her?"

Klaus said "yes we have met. I am Klaus Mikealsons, Ms Marshall's boss. Well I used to be. Can i talk to her?"

She said "she is not home yet".

Klaus said "and you are?"

She said "I am Amy, Hope's babysitter".

Klaus said "when will she be back? I am in a hurry and wanted to talk to her about something urgent".

Amy said "she will be late Mr Mikaelsons".

Klaus said now getting annoyed "she has a file I need from her".

Amy said after some thought "can you come tomorrow? I will find out from her by then".

Klaus said with slight agitation "I need it urgently. Can't you call her or something?"

He could see her mind wheels turning and being a cop he knew why she was hesitating.

He said to her "I can wait here while you go and check if the file is in her room somewhere. It will Stenson vs Dean written on the cover".

Amy looked at him for a moment and then said with a smile "how about you come in? I will bring her office bag and you can see if it is in there".

Klaus thought for a moment and said "sure".

She led him in and said "I will bring her bag" holding Hope's hand and dragging her towards the room.

Hope shook her head and said adamantly "no" bringing a smile to his lips.

Amy said a bit firmly "come Hope" and took her hand and forcefully took her inside.

Klaus smiled as he understood her hesitation. He ideally walked to the neat and clean kitchen. He was looking at the pictures stuck on the fridge door when his gaze fell on a card on the fridge. He stared at the name "Dr Jim Ackles

Oncologist

202-435-9989".

A vague image of meeting someone by this name in Doulches flashed through his mind and he wondered "so a doctor!".

He looked towards Amy as she came back with a bag in her hand and said "all her work related things are in this bag if you want to go through".

She put the bag on the table and stood aside with Hope.

Klaus skimmed through them and found the file and looked up as he felt her lean against his leg. He looked at Amy who stepped forward to pull her back but he said "that is fine".

Hope touched his wristwatch and say "pretty".

Klaus felt a tug at his heart looking down at those beautiful brown hair and said "thank you".

Hope looked at him. Klaus couldn't help notice the seriousness on her face. As he was wondering_ why she was so serious_ she said "mommy sick".

Before he could ask anything Amy said hastily "yes sweetie, mommy is coming down with flu. I told you she will get better".

Klaus looked towards her and his experience told him that she was lying. He decided not to show any reaction, got up and said "thank you". He turned towards Hope and said "bye" and left the apartment.

He sat in his car but didnt start it wondering what was bothering him. Then he realized that it was the lie about her that was bothering him. He thought in annoyance _'if she was on a date then why lie? Did she not want Hope to know about her whereabouts? But what did Hope mean when she said "mommy sick". Wasn't it after that Amy told a lie'. _

He suddenly smiled and said to himself "how foolish of me?! She must have gotten another job interview somewhere and obviously she does not want Elijah to know about it".

He turned the ignition on and pulled the car on the road. After a few minutes he realized that he was still thinking of her and that doctor. He wondered _'what kind of job can she get in a doctors office. A secretary perhaps. So why not join him before? he was already offering a lot of money. 10,000 is a lot of money. It cannot be secretary so then what?'_

His training, experience and sharp mind was just nagging him to his annoyance so at last he picked up his cell and called the number he had read on the card.  
>As the call connected he said "i am calling from… " He quickly scanned his brain and said "from the liberty insurance company I got this CV from a girl named Hayley marshall. She gave Dr Ackle's name as a reference. I just wanted to talk to him about her".<p>

He heard her say excitedly "oh Hayley she is so sweet" and then added in a sympathetic tone "Poor girl".

For some reason hearing those words just made his heart sink. He asked "what do you mean?"

The girl said "you know the cancer and all".

He just stared at the road ahead in shock and then said recovering from the shock "so sorry to hear that. I hope she is taking good care of herself".

The girl said "well she is having her second chemo today so I would say yes she is. I have to say that she is really brave".

Klaus said "that is good".

He looked straight on the road absentmindedly suddenly overcome by a major attack of depression.

He stopped the car outside the building where his penthouse was located and walked towards the lobby feeling really depressed to his surprise. After entering into the penthouse and thinking for a moment he picked up his phone.

For the next few hours, he used his police connections trying to find out where Hayley Marshall was having her chemo while all the time wondering '_why was he getting so emotional about all of it and why was he so bothered about her having cancer. He does not get along with her and she does not even like him. In fact she is scared of him for some reason'_.

He suddenly remembered her taking loans which now had started to make sense. He cursed his ignorance at the fact that one of his employee was so sick and he had no idea. At last after two hours he managed to locate her. Twenty minutes later he walked towards the front desk, took out his wallet and said "Detective Mikaelsons, I am looking for a Ms Hayley Marshall. I need her ward number".

The nurser looked down on the monitor and said "223".

Klaus walked towards the elevators feeling really apprehensive. Part of his mind was telling him to go back but the other was reminding him all of his observations of her - the weight loss, leaving the party looking sick, buckling of knees more the once, asking for loan, worried expressions. At last he got out and went to her room and hesitantly opened the door.

Hayley had just gone to sleep after a terrible few hours of enduring the pain and didnt hear the door open, see someone enter the room and stand near her bed looking at her covered with pink blanket. She missed seeing the shocked and the pained expressions on his face and then after a few agonizing moments leaving feeling thoroughly depressed.

In the afternoon, the nurse came in as she was putting on her shirt and said "you can go home. Dr Jill called a cab for you. You will have more nausea and more hair loss this time but just take it easy".

Hayley thanked her and walked out of the hospital. She walked towards the cab waiting for her outside.

When she got home, even though she was thoroughly depressed, her face broke in to a grin as Hope ran to her screaming and yelling with happiness. Next couple of hours she sat with her on the sofa looking a the cartoons while Amy made her coffee and told him about Klaus's visit. After putting Hope to bed, she went to sleep too.

Next morning she woke up way too early. She took a long shower and changed into a black pants and a fawn shirt. As she stood in front of the mirror she cursed as the shirt slipped from her shoulder. She said to herself "damn the weigh loss".

She kissed Hope on her forehead and after grabbing the coffee from the table she headed out.

Klaus entered the office wondering _'should he tell Elijah about Hayley?'_ He stopped in his track as he saw her sitting in her chair lost in her computer.

He walked towards her and said "hello Ms Marshall" making her jump out of her chair.

She looked at him and said coldly "hello Mr. Mikaelsons".

He noticed slight dark circles under her eyes and her complexion somewhat pale but now that he knew the reason for that he suddenly admired her will and dedication to her work and life in general.

He said "Elijah is not back yet so you are stuck with me for another two days".

He paused just for a moment and then added impulsively "I hope you don't mind" bringing a smile to her lips to both of their surprise.

Hayley said "I will bring you coffee".

Klaus looked at her and knowing her condition he didnt feel like asking her to run around doing errands for him. He just wished that he could send her home and she could rest. he had spend the night before reading about side affects of chemo and from that he had realized that and he had realized that she should be resting, but he couldn't just tell her to go home without reveling her secret, so he said "I don't need coffee today. I just had one was leaving for the office".

Klaus spend the next two days working with her and couldn't help but admire how brave she was being and wondered about her and thinking '_how could this have happened and how is she managing all of this. She has a small child to take care of. How long had she this cancer?' _

He called Caroline on Tuesday, two days after Hayley's chemo to talk to her about their situation but to his surprise he found out that she was in Chicago on some dance competition. She told him that she would be back in two days. After putting the cell down Klaus wondered _'what has been happening to their relationship. There was a time when they were inseparable and would do everything after telling each other and now she has gone to Chicago without telling him. It was not as if he would have stopped her so why did she not tell him?'_

Three days after her chemo Klaus noticed that _s_he was really pale and he had often caught her closing her eyes just for a fraction and take deep breaths making him wonder if she was feeling sick. She had excused herself a could of times from the meeting he was having with her and knew that she had gone to throw up.

She had just come back from the bathroom and sat opposite him and said "I am sorry".

Klaus said "that is fine" without looking up at her.

Hayley was taking notes he was dictating when she ran her finger through her hair and stared at the loose strand that had come off in her hand.

While dictating her as he read the details from the file, he looked up and saw her look at something. At closer look he realized that there were in her hand and he felt a drop in his stomach.

He looked down and said "Ms marshall I am done here. If you want to go home you can".

Hayley took a sigh of relief and for the first time of ever meeting him felt gratitude in her life.

After around half an hour he decided to wind up for the day too wondering _'when will Elijah come back and take over?"_

He took out his car from the parking spot and was driving towards the exit when he saw her standing near her car with the hood open. He didn't think for a moment and stopped the car. He got out and walked to her.

Hayley cursed and said to herself "shit. Just paid 500 for the repair".

She jumped out of her skin when she heard his amused voice "I didn't know you knew this language".

Before she could stop herself the words blustered out of her mouth "with a car like this I picked up some colorful words" bringing a heartfelt laughter from him.

She flushed at his laughter and then looked at him in surprised when he rolled up his sleeves and said "step aside let me look at it".

He bend down on the engine and then said "start the ignition"

Hayley walked around and started the ignition and groaned as she saw smoke coming out of the engine.

He looked up and said through the windscreen "turn it off" Even before she came out she knew it was a lost cause.

He said closing the hood with a bang "there is smoke coming out. I think your car needs serious repair".

Hayley looked at her wrist watch, gulped the nausea down and said "okay thanks".

As she picked up her bag he said impulsively "let me drop you".

Hayley said hastily "no I can go. I have already called the cab. I was just looking what is wrong with this piece of junk".

She paused for a second and looked around and then smiled making his knees go weak. She turned to him and caught him looking at her with weird expressions. She suddenly started to feel the dizzy making the smile slip from her lips.

She braved herself and said "there my cab is here. Thanks for you help. I will get it towed tomorrow or bring someone to look at it".

She turned towards her car to get her purse but suddenly dizziness took over and her knees buckled.

Klaus was looking at her when he saw her knees buckle. He impulsively grabbed her arm and supported her body to prevent her form falling.

Hayley felt her knee buckle, his hand grabbing her arm and steading her and at the same time she felt her shirt slip from her shoulder. She hastily tried to cover it.

He was so taken back by her reaction that he couldn't help bust stare at her. And then their eyes met just for a fraction and his trained eyes saw the terror. The pit in his stomach that he had been feeling for the past three days just got bigger to his surprise and something from five years ago flashed through his eyes and he pulled her towards him and ignoring her "please don't", pulled down the shirt from her shoulder and stared at the fading bite marks.

He felt as if all air got sucked out of him and he felt the push. He blinked his eyes and looked at her now pulling the dress up her shoulder. She looked up and their eyes met for a second, hers suddenly gone cold and distinct while his confused. She turned, controlled her nausea and walked away from him leaving him still shocked and confused.


	8. Ch 8 Secrets have a way of coming out 2

_**A/N:**_

_** guests Thanks for the reviews and complements. td you are asking question that I cannot answer without revealing too much about what is to happen down the road but your question are spot on. they will be addressed later in the story. So lets address the question I can answer Yes Klaus will figure out Hope is his daughter. In fact in this very chapter. And as for now and some time in future only Klaus and Hayley will know about their little family. It is their secret and they dont want to share with anyone because of various reason. Some are being discussed in this and the next chapter. LOL yes it is a Klayley story. Starting from this very chapter. But you know my stories are slow built up. this one specially because it is a bit different from the others. Klayley ride will not be smooth in this story. I hope I get to show you the bumpy ride the way I have it in my mind. I will try to uploaed as soon as I can. **_

_**Synopsis :Klaus find out more secrets of Hayley's past that are connected to him. Hayley starts looking for a new job.**_

* * *

><p>Klaus felt as if he had been standing there forever when he heard a sound that startled him out of his thought. He looked toward her cab and saw it pulling out on the road. He stood there looking at the cab disappear around the corner. He felt lost and that knowledge was a shock which took him by surprise considering that he was a detective and in the past, he had dealt with worse situation than this.<p>

He walked back to his car after he stood in the dark watching the cab disappear out of his sight. He sat in his car but couldn't start it as every single interaction flashed thought his mind; and it all started to make sense to him why she was so nervous around him and why was she scared of him. He put his forehead on the steering wheel wondering '_how it was possible. How could it be that out of all the girls in the whole world Hayley Marshall, his secretary who probably had an affair with his father, turned out to be the one whom he had raped'._

With each passing minute the pit in his stomach was getting bigger and bigger and then he groaned in anguish as he remembered something from her file and he realized that she was only seventeen when he…. He couldn't finish the thought. He suddenly felt sick. He got out of the car and started throwing up near a bush. He wondered '_when did she know? Was it the first time she saw him'? _and then he remembered her reaction when she saw him that first day. He wondered why didn't she say anything? tell anyone and then the words echoed "I need this job." And he remembered the loan she asked for and how he refused to give it to her, but she go it from Elijah. He hit his forehead on the steering wheel again and couldn't help thinking about their interactions. Her fear, her nervousness, all of it was starting to make sense to him. He looked up and after staring into the void for a moment he deliberated whether he should tell her. Part of his mind was telling him to call her whereas the other part was telling him to keep a lid on it.

At last he started his car, drove towards his penthouse feeling thoroughly depressed. As he entered his penthouse he felt her presence.

He said "Caroline, not right now. I… " but she cut him off and said "what is wrong with you? I thought I would give you a surprise and you are acting like a jerk. Are you having an affair? Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

Klaus said absentmindedly "no. But I don't want to be with anyone right now. Can you leave me alone?"

Caroline looked at him and said with frustration "Klaus this is not fair. We have only three months left to our wedding. If you are having second thoughts please talk to me. We can discuss anything, resolve any issue".

Klaus said trying to focus on her and their issue "_I do need to talk_ to you about something but not right now. Right now I want to be alone".

Caroline looked at him for a couple of minutes and then left with a sigh.

After she left Klaus walked to his room, sat on the bed with his hand in his head and the image of him raping that girl in that stall flashed through his eyes but to his anguish this time he saw her face clearly and he could see the resemblance under that heavy makeup and those tears. He didn't know how long he sat like that, reliving his past, staring at the bite marks on the side of his palm, drenched in guilt. He felt as if his heart will explode with the guilt and the burden he was feeling and then all of a sudden he got up and threw the lamp on the side table across the room and before he knew it he was throwing things across the room. He yelled in anger and ran his fingers through his hair after a few minutes when he saw that there was nothing left to break any more. He fell on his knees on the ground and held his head and said desperately "nooo".

He looked at his wrist watch and realized it was 10 pm. He stood up from the ground as he heard a knock at the door. He sighed, took a deep breath to calm himself down and walked to the door and opened it. He said "hey Joe, is everything okay?"

Joe asked "your downstairs neighbors called and said they heard disturbance from your apartment".

Klaus said controlling his anger and anguish "oh it was tv. I am sorry".

Joe said "it is fine. I just wanted to make sure you are okay".

Klaus said "yes, I am fine. thanks".

After the man left, Klaus closed the door and leaned against it for a few seconds and went to lie on the bed feeling dejected. He closed his eyes and tried to think about something else but it was impossible.. The thought that she had to work with him, her rapist every day off and on in the last two months was tormenting him to no extend. He realized that because of his line of work, he of all people understood how she must have felt. He sat up realizing that she didn't have other option because of her expensive cancer treatment.

He tried to sleep but could. Eventually he managed to get a shut eye near dawn. By the time he woke up it was already ten. He changed his clothes hastily and left the penthouse. As he sat in his car he realized it was a day off in the office because of Employee appreciation day. He sat there for a moment and then drove towards her apartment building.

He looked up at the building thinking whether he should talk to her or not but then climbed two stairs at a time and rang the bell. As he stood impatiently waiting for the door to open he wondered '_what will he talk to her about?'_ He was lost in his thoughts when the door opened and he was startled out of his thoughts when the same young girl from the other day said "you! how can i help you?"

Klaus said nervously "I am looking for Ms Marshall".

Amy said "It is her day off today so she is gone to the park with Hope".

Klaus said anxiously "can you tell me which park?"

Amy looked at him for a moment with thoughtful eyes and then said "Anderson park, just around the corner".

He said "thank you" and turned to leave when it hit him.

He said to himself in an undertone "no that cannot be" but turned slowly towards the door again and said controlling his racing heart beat "can you tell me how old Hope is? I was thinking of buying her a gift but i wanted to know how old she is".

Amy smiled and said "she will be five in June".

She continued without realizing that she had just made Klaus's heart stopped beating "I can suggest a gift for her. She loves dolls".

He whispered "thank you".

He turned and started going down the stairs absorbing what he had just found out. He sat in his car and put his head on the steering wheel wondering '_how many more shocks can he take?' How much wrong he had done to Hayley? He raped her and then he gave her the reminder of that rape'_. He thought about that child and recalled the weird pull he had felt both times he had seen her.

He started his car and pull it on the road and started driving in the direction Amy had told him. One block down the road he saw the park on the left. He parked the car in the parking lot of the park and went towards the swings and slides swarmed with kids of all ages and sizes. He looked around looking for her and then he spotted her staring into the space. He walked to her and said "Ms. Marshall!" startling her.

Hayley had been feeling really anxious since last night. Something was nagging her that he had recognized her but then she said to herself "how could he? He was so drunk. Surely he wouldn't remember him biting her".

She had spend all her night thinking about it and even now in the park she was lost in her thoughts with her hand on her shoulder thinking if he had recognized her or not but praying that he didn't when she heard him say her name.

She looked towards him, jumped up and asked "Mr. Mikaelsons! What are you doing here? how did you know I was here?"

Klaus searched for something on her face and to his heart break he saw it; the anguish and the anxiety that he had seen so many times on the face of the victims of a crime when facing their accuser. He said "your roommate told me".

Hayley said in an angry tone "Mr Mikaelsons I don't appreciate you coming to my house uninvited. You came once before too. I would appreciate if we keep our interaction purely professional".

When he didn't say anything she thought _'may be I was wrong. He didn't recognize her. Thanks god'_.

She said to him after a moment trying to sound casual "I have told you that I need the job and that is why I am working for you. Please respect that and give me my space".

She started to leave when he said to her "listen to me please. I remember. I know …" throwing a bucket of cold water on her.

Hayley recovered quickly and cut him off by stepping back and saying forcefully "what are you talking about?"

Klaus said in frustration "I remember. I know it was you whom I… … but you have to know that I was drunk and I never…".

He couldn't finish his sentence seeing different colors on her face.

Hayley said in a barely audible voice "Mr. Mikalesons you are confusing me with someone else".

Klaus stepped closer and said "I am not. For some reason I distinctly remember those bite marks even if I didn't remember your face".

Hayley hastily looked around and said "I don't want to listen to anything. I cannot be with you right now. Can you please let me go? Hope…is coming over. Please go".

Klaus said "I need to find out…"

He paused for a second during which Hayley felt her life was about to turn upside down and it actually did when he asked "she is mine right?"

Hayley shook her head and said "no".

Klaus stared at her face seeing the lie and said "If I have to I will do the paternity test".

Before she could stop herself the words were out "please don't" making his heart sink.

He said in a barely audible voice "oh my god. Hayley I…".

Hayley snapped "Ms Marshall for you Mr. Mikealsons" and then she sensed some gazes on them and looked around and said "people are starting to look at us".

Klaus looked around and saw a couple of people looking at them. He took a step towards her but stopped when she took one back from him. He took a deep breath and said "Ms Marshall we need to talk about this".

Hayley felt like screaming at him but she took a deep breath and said "Mr. Mikaelsons please don't make a scene. I know you were drunk but that does not excuse you. What is done cannot be undone. I am with my daughter here. I don't want to talk about it. Can you please leave us alone?"

Klaus said "I will but please give me a chance to explain".

Hayley shook her head trying to control the tears ready to fall from her eyes "no I dont want to talk to you about that".

Klaus saw the glitter of tears in her eyes and that just made the matter worse, tried to look away from her eyes but couldn't and said "at least let me talk to her"

Hayley said at once "no".

Klaus shook his head in desperation and said "Just let me talk to her just one time".

Hayley looked at Hope coming down the slide and then the desperation on his face and said "If I let you, you will leave us alone".

When he didn't answer she said "you will leave us alone then right?"

He at last nodded. She continued saying "You will not tell anyone about your relationship with my daughter not even your family or hope herself".

Klaus was quiet for a moment absorbing what she had said and then asked "is that the condition for me to talk to my own daughter?"

Hayley felt sick hearing "my own daughter" from his mouth but said "take it or leave it".

Before he could stop himself the words were out "I can take you to court. Seeing my family's name…" He stopped talking as he saw her face paling making him suddenly very guilty.

As he looked at her with heavy guilt in his heart, she stepped forward and said coldly ""Mr. Mikalesons lets get one thing straight. I know you will not tell anyone about Hope because even if you don't land in jail because of your family name or because the statue of limitation of five years has expired in this state or because any other means still your family name will be tarnished. If there is anything I have learned from Mikael it is his pride over his family name. So please don't ever threaten me again. I am not that seventeen year old girl who couldn't defend herself".

She suddenly realized that she had one finger touching his chest while she was talking to him. She stepped back and retreated her finger and at the same time got a big satisfaction seeing different colors on Klaus's face.

She got a big satisfaction seeing different colors on Klaus's face.

Klaus felt as if someone had thrown cold water on him. He said softly "I know".

Hayley who was ready for further angry outburst was taken aback by the way he said "I know". She looked into his eyes and saw guilt which took her by surprise. She shook her head and said "you can talk to her for a minute".

She took a deep breath and walked to where Hope was playing and said "Hope, come here".

Klaus looked around and saw her running towards them.

She ran to him and said excitedly "Klaus".

Klaus felt a tug at his heart. He instinctively looked at Hayley who was looking at Hope. He knelt down and said "hello Hope".

He paused and felt really awkward and wondered what he should talk to her about and then said with slight hesitation "are you having fun here?"

Hope looked at Hayley and said "yes, mommy and I have fun here".

Hayley smiled and said "okay Hope, Go and play. we are going home in 10 minutes".

Hope looked at Klaus and said "bye".

Klaus stood up and stared at her running away from them and then looked at Hayley and asked "were you ever going to tell me?"

Hayley looked at him and said "no" with so much hatred that he felt a drop in his stomach. He said "Hayley!"

But she cut him off and said in a cold voice "Mr Mikaelson, please. Unfortunately I cannot leave this job. If you keep at it you will put both of us in a tight spot. If you want to do anything for me then please leave me be. I don't want to live in past but I cannot forget it either. I have made a life for myself and if you keep trying to bring up the past the calm that I have created for Hope will be lost so for her sake I beg you to not ever talk to me about what happened between us. Now will you excuse me".

She walked towards Hope and said "lets go sweetie".

Klaus stared at her and Hope disappearing from his sight for a long time and then with a heavy heart he turned towards where his car was parked and left too. He drove aimlessly for hours trying to divert his mind ended up in a bar and spend hours drinking to forget about what had he discovered since yesterday. One thing that kept nagging him was that why had she not reported him yet. Apparently she recognized him two months ago so why has she not told anyone. After hours of thinking he couldn't reach to a conclusion. So he got up and left for his apartment in frustration.

When he reached his apartment it was very late. He stood in the living room looking around the mess that he had created by breaking everything in his penthouse and then he ignored the mess and went to his room. Klaus sat on his bed unable to think of anything other then that child and the pull she had on him. He wondered if he will be able to stay away from her now that he knew she was his daughter. He thought about Hayley and what was he going to do about his situation .

While Klaus was distressed Hayley was very depressed too. Knowing that he knows about her made her realize that she couldn't work with him anymore but she didnt have any options until she finds a new job. She made up her mind about looking for the new job. She cursed herself for not looking for it earlier but soon realized because she was hoping he will never find out about her and she couldn't very well afford to leave this secured job. She went to sleep at last after two hours of thinking of her and Hope's future.

Next morning when she woke up Hope was already up playing with her doll. She got out of bed, kissed her and said "what are you doing up so early?"

Hope said with a smile "playing with doll".

She went to take shower after telling her "I have to change and then leave for office. You be nice and listen to Amy".

Hope smiled and continued to play with her doll.

After putting on her blue blouse with fawn pants. She brushed her hair and after seeing some more hair coming out she pulled her hair into a pony tail and put on some light make and came out.

She picked up her coffee and looked at Hope who had come after her to the kitchen too and smiled at her and said "I will be home early today sweetie".

She looked at Amy who said "we are going to have so much fun. Wouldn't we Hope?"

Hope grinned and said "yes".

Hayley left the apartment. During the drive to the office she thought about her prospect of finding a new job and wondered if she should ask Tyler a favor but then decided against it.

She parked the car in the garage under her office and picked up her cell and dialed Jim's number.

As the call connected she said "hello Jim how are you?"

He said "hey how are you feeling?"

Hayley took a deep breath and said "much better. thank you. I need a favor from you".

Jim said "anything." and then added as an after thought "Do you need any financial help?"

Hayley said with a smile "no but thanks. I wanted to ask you if you know any opening as a secretary somewhere. I want to change my job".

Jim said "you are so lucky. Yesterday a friend of mine was asking for a good secretary. Do you want me to talk to him about it?"

Hayley said "no, I will forward my CV to him. Who is he?"

Jim said "His name is Jason Simpson and he is the owner of a software company by the name of Apex Technologies".

Hayley said with a smile "thank you" and put the cell down.

Klaus woke up early in the morning, way early and after some thoughts cleaned up his apartment to distract himself form thinking about everything that has been going on in his life.

then he changed his clothes, took out his car and drove to his office bracing himself to face her and thinking 'may be he can talk to her'.

While Hayley was looking for different opportunities in her life, Klaus was sitting on Elijah's chair looking out of the window thinking of Hayley and what his actions did to her life. He felt as if she was not catching a break. First he raped her and then she had the reminder of it every day and now this cancer and she has to work with the very person who raped her. He felt as if he would never be able to look her into the eyes. He rubbed his eyes in frustration and turned around when the door opened and he heard someone say "hello Klaus".

Klaus smiled and walked to the man standing at the door.

He shook his hand and said "Ben, when did you come back?"

Ben said "two days ago and imagine my surprise. Niklaus Mikaelsons is taking time off from his beloved job!"

Klaus laughed and said "come sit" and gestured him to sit.

He then said "coffee?"

Ben said "No I have to go. I just came to give you something. Something your father only wanted you to have. You were not here for will reading and then I had to leave the country. I wanted to hand this over to you".

He put his hand in his coat's inner pocket and took out an envelop and gave it to him and said "I am off to now. Will catch up sometime soon".  
>After he shook Klaus's hand and left, he opened the letter and started reading it.<p>

_"Niklaus if you are reading this letter then it means I am no more in this world. I want you to know that I'm very proud of you, even thought I never expressed it when I was alive. I am proud of the kind of life you have made for yourself. It is a fact that I wanted you to take over family business and not a single day went by when I didnt pressurize you but deep down I understood your passion and that makes me really proud of you. _

_Niklaus everyone must be wondering why I left so much amount for Hayley Marshall. I think you will understand after I explain it to you why I did that. I dont know if you will ever find out or if already know or what your actions will be regarding this but I wanted to provide her with everything that she and your daughter deserve. You must be wondering how I found out. Earning this name and maintaining the reputation requires some hard work and some selfishness. I knew it was a big deal for you to get into Harvard law and you will be partying hard after all you were only 22 so I asked James to keep an eye on you that night to make sure you dont break the law or do anything inappropriate to tarnish our family's name, call me narrow minded but that is who I am. He saw you going in the bathroom with that girl. Later he showed me that girl on one of the cameras of the club. When James showed me that video I being your father did the most selfish thing, I destroyed that video thinking how would it look if people find out Mikael Lockwood's son was making out with a cheap girl who by the way looked like a hooker in that dress and makeup. _

_A few years later when Tyler asked me to give job to his friend Hayley Marshall, I knew it was her and imagine my surprise when I found out that she was Henry Marshall's runaway daughter. She was not qualified for the job but she was efficient and was willing to learn and apparently needed the job so I gave her a chance considering who she was and there was something about her that made me want to help. She was young and inexperienced but very determined. Hayley had only one request that her parent don't find out that she was working in this company. At first I didnt understand but exactly after one year of her joining the firm I found out her secret that she was hiding from her parents. _

_I was visiting a friend of mine in a hospital when I saw her. She had brought her daughter who had fallen from the slide and broken her arm. She was in surgery and Hayley was really worried. When I asked her she reluctantly told me that she did not have money and the insurance did not cover everything. That was the first time I found something personal about her . I did all the expenditure of the surgery but she said it was a loan and that was when she won me over and believe you me she paid each penny of that loan. Later I met her daughter and I knew. I knew she was yours. Anyone who knew what happened between you two could see the resemblance between the dimples and the eyes you share with your daughter. I dont know why you never told us about her or why she never told you about your daughter. Not a single day went by for the next two years when I didn't think of picking up the phone to tell you that you have a daughter but I don't know why I didn't tell you. Perhaps that was my selfish reason too. I wanted you to enjoy life free of responsibilities for as long as you can. _

_Your mother thinks that I am having an affair wither her. That is not the case. She is old enough to be my daughter. In fact y way that is besides the point. Her daughter, I believe her name is Hope. She is my granddaughter, she deserves the best in the world. _

_I dont know if by the time you are reading this letter you know about them or not but I imagine this must be a huge blow to you and I hope that you will step up and take your responsibility now that you are mature enough to understand the situation but if you dont, i just want to make sure that she is well taken care of and hence I am leaving her that money. _

_Remember regardless of what happened between you and Hayley, I will always be proud of you. _

_Mikeal Lockwood"._

Klaus stared at the letter in shock wondering _'how could he be so clueless considering that he was not an someone who didn't think out of box. He was a detective who was highly trained and was well rehearsed for these type of situation. How could he doubt his father?'_

He read it again and realized it with a sinking heart that even though his father found out about Hayley and him and that Hope is his child, he didnt know what exactly happened in that bathroom. He read the worlds "I am proud of you" and felt sick to his stomach.

He was lost in his thoughts so he didnt hear him at first .

Elijah said "Niklaus!"

and when he realized that he had not heard him, he touched his shoulder startling him. Klaus looked at him and asked "Elijah, when did you come?"

Elijah said "just right now. I caught the red eye. What is that?"

He pointed at the letter in his hand.

Klaus said trying to recover from the shock "oh nothing just some notes".

He then fixed a smile on his face and said "okay then good. Now you can take over. How was New Orleans?"

Elijah took his seat and asked curiously "are you okay? You seem a bit off… like something is bothering you".

Klaus said "I am fine" and turned around as the door opened and she entered. He saw the smile appear on her lips just for a second and then he realized that the smile was for Elijah as she was looking at him.  
>She said "Mr. Mikaelsons. How was your trip?" still not looking at him.<p>

Elijah said with a smile "good Hayley. How was the office behind me? Tell me Niklaus behaved himself".

Hayley couldn't help but look at him just for a second and gauged from that one look that he had not slept at all.

She looked at Elijah and said with a slight smile on her lips "yes he did" and then said "I will bring your coffee".

She stood in front of coffee machine wondering _'what to do now?_' and then she said to herself "just act normal. Nothing has changed".

She took both coffee cups and took them to his office.

Klaus noticed her putting the coffee cup in front of her and felt very little in front of her.

Elijah picked up his coffee and said "thank you Hayley" and continued saying to Klaus as she turned to leave "Stenson's case is still not finished. It is becoming a headache to be honest. I might have to go back by the end of the week".

After she retreated from the office Elijah asked Klaus "so what happened with mother and you about Hayley situation?"

Klaus stared at him and then he realized his mother's demand about firing Hayley. He took a deep breath and said to Elijah "mother wants Hayley be fired by the end of the month. If we don't then she will drag her to the court regardless of what it will do to the family's name".

Elijah leaned back against his chair and said "so what do you think?"

Klaus didn't know what to say. After what he had found about his relationship with her and her cancer he couldn't very well fire her. He said to Elijah "I think she is hard working. She deserves better".

Elijah said "I agree. Maybe I should transfer her to New Orleans and make everyone's life easy".

Klaus heard his suggestion feeling confused about whether he should tell Elijah about Hayley's cancer, her past and how that past is linked with him. Should he tell him why has his father left her so much money? He was lost in his thoughts and missed Elijah calling him. He startled when Elijah said loudly "Niklaus!"

Klaus said "what?!"

Elijah said "what is wrong? I was telling you that Andrew called and was asking for your input on the case the he is working".

Klaus got up saying "I will look into it right now".

As he left the office he looked at her but her head was down and she was typing something on the computer.

He walked to her and said "Ms. Marshall I …"

Hayley could feel his eyes on her but she refused to look at him. She prayed that he walk away without saying anything to her but her prayers were not fulfilled as she sensed him standing close to her seconds later.

She looked at him as he started talking and cut him off by saying very coldly "Mr. Mikaelsons if it is not about a case or my job then I dont want to listen to it please".

She looked down and continued doing her work.

The sleepless night, the tension and anger he had been feeling at himself made him snap and he said after stepping closer to her "you and I need to talk about it at some time. Running and avoidance is not a solution".

Before she could say anything he walked away from her.

She looked at him going for a moment and then got up and walked into Elijah's office and said "Mr. Maikealsons. I wanted to talk to you about something".

Klaus left Andrews office with Andrew and they both left to meet his client.

By the time he came back her seat was empty and Elijah was sitting in his office looking at some file. As he entered Elijah asked rather angrily "what happened?"

Klaus said while taking the seat opposite him "what do you mean?"

Elijah said "she is getting a new job. She has given me her notice saying that she is looking for a new job and as soon as she gets it she will leave".

Elijah looked at Klaus as he saw his expressions changing to shock.

He said sarcastically "judging from your expressions you are not to be given credit".

Klaus said angrily "you think she is leaving because of something I said".

As soon as the words registered to his own mind he knew that was in fact the reason she was leaving. He turned around in frustration leaving Elijah bewildered.

He got up angrily and left his office knowing perfectly well that she was leaving the job because of what had happened between them.

When he reached home he looked around the tidied up penthouse suddenly wanting to make it messed up again. He walked to his room and groaned as he saw Caroline siting on his bed. As he walked to her she stood up and slowly untied the strings of the robe she was wearing and then slowly took it off of her shoulders and let it pool on the floor. He walked to her and picked up the robe from the ground and put it on her again and said "we need to talk".

Caroline said feeling embarrassed "sure? but that was totally rude. You used to love it".

Klaus looked at her wondering how could he control his urges when she was sitting in front of him naked but then he reminded himself of the lies between them. He was about to say something when she said "I know you are hiding something from me. what is it? You can tell me anything".

Klaus looked at her and said "I know and I am glad you said that because it is two way street. Don't you have anything to share with me?"

His trained eyes noticed the blush sneaking in her cheeks but was surprised when she said "what do you mean?"

Klaus took a sigh and said "Caroline I know about you and I know that you know about me".

Caroline touched his cheek and said "I don't get it".

Klaus looked at her in surprise and wondered _'can someone be in so much denial?' _

He said "do you not want to face the facts?"

Caroline stood up and said "I don't know what you are talking about but if you want me here then I am off".

Klaus stared at her lost for words. He said "Caroline I don't think our relationship will work if you and I are not truthful to each other. I know you are vampire and you know that I am a werewolf".

Caroline looked at him for a moment and then said with a sigh "Klaus I don't care if you are a werewolf or not. Does it matter to you that I am a vampire?"

Klaus looked at her apprehensive expressions and said reluctantly "I dont know but the very fact that you hid it from me. You hid about my true nature and yours matter to me".

Caroline asked "it is not just me who hid things from you Klaus, you also hid things from me. When were you going to tell me about you being a werewolf?"

Klaus said "I am telling you now. I called you a few days ago too and told you that I wanted to talk to you about something important. I was going to talk to you about myself and yourself".

Caroline said "so what do we do now?"

Klaus said "it is not that I don't love you Caroline. You know I love you but I need some time. I have some issues going on and I need to resolve them. We still have some time for our wedding and I think we need to figure out our future".

Caroline nodded and then kissed him and said "yes I guess we need to resolve this issue" and then went to the bathroom. She changed into her clothes and left without saying anything to her.

Klaus stood there for a moment and then fell on the bed in the same clothes and closed his eyes. Out of blue an image of Hayley lying on the hospital bed flashed through his mind and he cursed himself and got up and went to the bathroom. After taking a long shower he went to lie on his bed and took out his cell and dialed a number. As the call connected he said "Alexis how are you?"

He smiled and said "when are you coming back? I miss my partner".

Klaus stared at the ceiling and then sat up and said "next week".

Alexis said "yayy good. We have a new person in the department and Joe is doing his usual".

Klaus suddenly laughed and said "then the usual will happen too. She will not get into his trap. Anyway I have to go. You take care".

After putting the cell down he laid back and closed his eyes again feeling really confused. He wondered _'will running away solve the issue? Didn't he say the same thing to Hayley? They need to talk about them and Hope'._

He managed to sleep after thinking for a long time.

Next day when Hayley entered the office feeling anxious at the prospect of seeing him but was relieved to see that he was not there. It was just Elijah in the office. She settled own on her chair after giving him the coffee. As she switched on her computer her cell rang.

She smiled as she heard Jim voice saying "hey I talked to Jason and he wants to meet you tonight at Dolche's. Can you make it at 6 pm? He really needs someone and he called me yesterday again and as we had talked about it so I told him about you".

Hayley looked toward Elijah through the glass wall and said "yes I can meet him".

Jim said "good".

She put the cell down and got up and went to his office.

Elijah looked up as he saw Hayley enter the office and asked "Hayley everything okay?"

Hayley said "Mr. Mikaelson, I told you about looking for a new job. I have an interview at 6 tonight. Can I leave early tonight?"

Elijah stared at her and then said "Hayley is it the money? We can increase your pay".

Hayley smiled and said "no, it is not that. I just want a change".

Elijah said after a moment remembering her borrowing loan from the company "sure Hayley but you will tell me if you have a pay issue or any other problem right?"

Hayley smiled and said "yes" and retreated.

Klaus had spend the day in his penthouse wondering about what should he do? When should he tell Elijah about his decision of going back to his job? How should he talk to Hayley? What should he do about Caroline and himself.

He parked the car in the parking lot of Dolche's and got out. He was led to an unoccupied table by a waiter. He ordered himself a medium rear steak. After the waiter brought him a glass of wine, he picked it up and starting sipping it while mentally planning how he will talk to Hayley when he slowly brought his glass down from his lip and stared at her talking to Jason across the room.

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><p><em><strong>AN: For the purpose of this story statue of limitation on sexual assault is five years in the state of Virginia (Mystic falls is located in Virginia) which is not the case in real world. Remember people it is all a fiction and dont take any thing too seriously. The story doesn't necessarily reflect my own personal feeling regarding the topic ...**_


	9. Chapter 9 Silver Lining 2

**_A/N: guest thanks for wonderful comments. td, Hayley is having her treatment but cancer is not treated over night. I have a family member who went through it and for five years even after her radiation we were scared if it will come back or not. Thankfully it has not. Hayley will recover by the end of story and her chemo and radiation will help her get through it. But saying that she is totally cured of it is unrealistic. Once someone has cancer, they are always at a threat of getting it back. Also for other fans Rebekah will be in this story but of course the main plot is around Klaus and Hayley so they will have small parts. I hope you enjoy this chapter too._**

_**For the sake of this story the statue of limitation of rape is five years in Virginia which is totally fictional as it is not the case in real world.**_

**_Synopsis: Klaus tried to help Hayley out. There is an unexpected event in Mikaelsons family which forces Elijah to take a step. Hayley makes a decision about the job interview she had with Jason. _**

* * *

><p>He got up and left the restaurant after putting a fifty dollar note on the table.<p>

He drove around aimlessly thinking '_why she was meeting Jason? Are they involved or dating?' _He wondered why was he so concerned about her and bothered about what she is doing with her life. He shook his head and deliberately started to think about Caroline and about their future.

By the time he reached his penthouse he was really frustrated and he realized that he couldn't prolong it much. They needed to talk about the elephant in the room so he picked up his cell and called Caroline. He said "I think we should talk. Can you come over?"

Thirty minutes later, he was lying on his bed reading a book when he heard the ding of the elevator stopping. He wondered _'what was he doing?' _and then he said to himself "they need to find out how they feel about each other and if they can handle this big secret between us".

He got up and walked towards the elevator.

Caroline looked at him, smiled and said "I am glad you calle…" but she couldn't finish her sentence as Klaus kissed her deeply and then lifted her.

As her legs got wrapped around his waist he realized that he wanted to talk to her so what suddenly happened. He got confused but she was returning his kiss with such passion that he couldn't focus on his thinking. He carried her to his room and dropped her on the bed. He looked at her as she was taking off her shirt. Suddenly a hesitation came over him which took him by surprise. He didn't realize that he looked hesitant and only came out of his trance when he felt her touch on his cheek and her say "Klaus".

He shook his head and said to himself "I have to do this".

He kissed her again ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach. At that instance he knew that he had lost something but he continued to kiss her. Before both of them knew it they were out of their clothes. While kissing her neck, Klaus forgot about everything from the passionate way she was responding and arousing him. Before he could stop himself he was making love to her in a way that made him forget about the last two days. As Klaus rolled over on the bed suddenly an image flashed through his mind - the image that just confused him and he wondered _'why was he thinking about her while Caroline was lying naked next to him?'_

He shook his head to clear her from his mind after telling himself "this is not the time to think about her". He pulled her towards him and ideally brushed his fingers on her bare shoulder ignoring the pit in his stomach. She looked at him and said "I am glad we worked things out".

Klaus stared at the ceiling and said after a moment "no Caroline, we have not worked things out. This just proved that we still have feelings for each other. But we cannot ignore the facts and we need to seriously consider the impact it will have on our future. I will have to tell my family at some point that you are a vampires and I am a werewolf and they are at the risk of turning werewolves too".

Caroline said abruptly "no, you cannot tell your family about me. They will never understand Klaus until they trigger their gene and I don't want them to trigger their gene".

Klaus said "I cannot keep this a secret from my family all my life Caroline. May be a few years at most. I have to tell them so that they are careful and not trigger their gene. I have come to terms with what has happened to me but I dont want anyone of my family to trigger their gene".

When she didn't say anything he asked "what are you thinking?"

Caroline said "I need to tell you something".

Klaus said "me too but you go ahead".

She said "Klaus, as a vampire I cannot have kids. You know that right?"

Klaus closed his eyes for a second and then opened them and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully and said "no I didn't".

She asked "is it a big deal for you? we can always adopt kids".

Klaus thought about Hope and said "yes it is a big deal for me. You know I wanted to have a family but like you said we can always adopt kids. Lets cross that bridge when the time comes".

He wondered_ 'how will she react when she will find out about Hope and Hayley and then he remembered Hayley warning about keeping this a secret'. _

He closed his eyes and for some reason felt a pit in his stomach as she fingered his chest.

Caroline smiled and said "and what were you going to tell me?"

Klaus said "I have decided to go back to my job".

Caroline lifted herself up and looked at him making him wonder. He decided to ask her in an instant "tell me were was the reason you didnt like my job. Were that you worried that I will trigger my gene or was it my pay?"

She kissed him on his mouth and said "will you trust me that it was about your gene. I dont care about your pay. I love you. I can live in that pay".

Klaus kissed her back, smiled and said "that is good to know".

While Klaus was in the bed with Caroline rubbing his fingers on her naked arm, Hayley was lying in her bed thinking about the interview with Jason. She realized that she really liked him and the prospects in his company and was looking forward to the acceptance letter from him. She tried to go to sleep but couldn't so she got up and went to the kitchen. She made coffee for herself and sat at the kitchen table drinking it. All of a sudden she got up and ran to the bathroom and started throwing up and groaned as she realized that the side affect of the chemo had started to appear again. She wiped her mouth and came out of the bathroom and went back to the kitchen and stopped as she saw Amy and Tyler locked in kiss. She turned to go in but Tyler said "Hayley, I need to talk to you about something".

Hayley turned to him and said "what is it?"

Tyler said "listen if you need anything for the chemo, I can…" but he couldn't finsih his sentence as Hayley looked sharply at Amy who looked guilty to her satisfaction. She said coldly "no thanks. I am fine".

She turned and went to her room leaving him feeling miserable.

As she laid on the bed suddenly a thought occurred to her and she sat up and asked herself "Tyler is Klaus's cousin. Did he know that it was Klaus who raped her?"

but then shook her head saying "no that cannot be. He wouldn't protect him".

She wondered _'is that the reason he had been helping her for the past five years. Is it the guilt over his cousin's actions or his own. What if he finds out? Should she tell Klaus not to tell Tyler that he was the one? Should she tell Tyler not to tell Klaus about what almost happened between them?'_

She felt the nausea again and she ran to the bathroom and started throwing up. She came back to the bed and fell on it and suddenly tears started flowing down her cheek. She realized that she was crying for the first time ever since Klaus had found out about her. She didnt know when she went to sleep while crying.

Next morning when he woke up Caroline was still sleeping in his arms. He walked to the bathroom and while taking shower, he started thinking of Hayley again to his annoyance and it occurred to him that they have still not talked about all of it. He stood under the steaming shower starting to feel lost again. His father's words were haunting him and he wondered how can he take over this responsibility and then it hit him. He ran his hand over his face and felt a bit calm. He turned the shower off and decided to talk to her about her and Hope and take care of some of her problems. He stepped out of the shower and realized that he only have one week to take care of it. He realized that he was feeling a bit light as he came up with a plan at how he could help her.

He came out after changing his clothes and walked to her still sleeping. he kissed her and whispered "sleep tight. I have to go".

He took out his cell and dialed this cop friend in Mystic Falls police department and said "hey Ben I need to find out some information on a Ms Hayley Marshall. No need to tell you that it needs to stay between us. I need everything about her, her personal life, her financial situation everything".

Ben said "okay, give me a few hours, max a day. Is she a trouble?"

Klaus said "no. Can you do this solid for me?"

After putting the cell down he recalled Dr. Jim Ackles number and said to the nurse as the call connected "I need to see Dr. Jim Ackles".

The nurse said ""Dr. Ackles is busy right now. Would you like to leave a message? He will call you as soon as possible".

Klaus said "no that is fine. I will call him again" and disconnected the call.

Later that day he walked into a office building and walked straight to reception, showed her his badge and said "I need to talk to Dr Ackles".

The nurse said "he is with a patient right now. Why don't you take a seat?".

Klaus was looking around when someone asked him "hello there".

Klaus stood up as he saw Dr Ackles standing there. He took the hand he offered when Jim said "I didn't know you were a detective".

Klaus smiled and said "very few people know. Can we talk?"

He nodded and led Klaus to his office.

Klaus took a seat opposite him and said "I am here to talk about Hayley Marshall. I believe she is your patient".

Jim said after a moment "whatever you want to know, it comes under doctor patient confidentiality and you would know that".

Klaus smiled and said "yes I know that so I will start with a simple one. How do you know her".

Jim said leaning back "I met her three years ago when she was giving personal care to my mother who was in the final stages of her cancer treatment. Hayley helped her a lot during that stage. It was a difficult time for all of us especially her and she needed someone who really could be there for her. She was putting herself through college at that time and she has a small child so she needed some extra cash. She was working at night with my mother and during the day time she was working with your father".

Klaus nodded and then asked "and how sick she really is? I mean how bad her cancer is".

He leaned forward and said "might I ask why are you asking me?"

Klaus said "she works for us and as her employee I think I deserve to know how sick she really is".

Jim Ackles said "I can only tell you that she is doing better. She has two more chemo left and then there is radiation".

Klaus suddenly realized that his grip on the chair's arm rest was very tight and on one look he saw his knuckles whitened.

He stood up and said "thank you. I would appreciate it if you dont tell her that I know. I don't want her to feel self conscious while working for us".

He stood up and after shaking his hands he left the office.

He thought about going to the office. He parked the car in the garage when his cell rang. He picked it up as he saw Ben's name on the caller Id.

He asked "so what have you found out?"

Ben said "so your girl has some sort of twisted history. At first I couldn't find any thing but then i dug deeper and found out that she had filed for a rape charge when she was 17 but it got expunged by her parents. Apparently they are big shot, some Henry and Emily Marshall. They said that she was lying and she was a trouble child. I dont know what happened next but then she came back again and filed it again when she turned 18 but there was nothing to prove that she was not telling the truth. There was no rape kit done so the investigation was never opened up. It is five years now and you know the statue of sexual assault expires after five years in this state. Nothing can be done now even if she comes forward again which by the way she never did after she was returned. Besides that she is clean except for some serious debt but apparently she has many medical bills. Do you know she was sick, has cancer?"

Klaus was feeling like if he was drowning in a swamp and even if he try he wouln't be able to pull himself out of it. He gathered some courage and said "rape? That is terrible. but yes I know about her illness. How much debt are we talking about?"

Ben said "twenty five thousand".

Klaus hit his hand on the steering wheel and said "which bank?"

Ben said "liberty mutual".

He paused for a second and then suddenly thought of Hope and asked "does the rape give any details?"

There was a pause and then Ben said "no nothing. She just said that she was raped in a night club. She said that she could sketch the person but apparently the officer taking the detail didnt believe her so there is no sketch either".

Klaus groaned and said "okay thanks".

After putting the cell down he put his head on the head rest and the image of her worried face flashed through his eyes and a thought occurred to him.

He put the car in gear and backed it up.

In the mean time Hayley and Elijah were having a meeting with some clients. Elijah couldn't help but notice her looking distracted. After their clients left he got up and went to his room with Hayley following him. Elijah entered the room and said "Hayley, how did your interview go?"

Hayley said with a smile "it went okay. He has not gotten back to me yet".

Elijah said "if you don't mind can I ask where did you apply?"

Hayley said "it is Apex technologies, a software company".

She looked at Elijah curiously as she saw him leaning forward. She asked with a sinking heart "do you know them?"

Elijah said "yes, Jason is Niklaus's very old friend".

Hayley's heart sank as it hit her that he will find out about this job interview.

She looked at Elijah as she heard him ask "are you okay? you suddenly look very pale".

Hayley hastily said "I am fine. I just…. so you know him too?"

Elijah stared at her for a moment now getting convinced that she was hiding something from her and said "yes. He is a great guy but what is he offering you that we cannot Hayley".

Hayley said "Mr. Mikaelson I told you that it was not about the money".

Elijah stared at her wondering _'his father had left this woman so much in his will. Why would he do that unless he valued her or … but she does not look that kind of person. Is he missing something?'_

He suddenly realized that he couldn't let Hayley go. She was a valuable member of the company. He leaned forward and said "I have to say Hayley that I am having hard time believing you. I don't want you to take Jason's offer. I am willing to double your salary because you are very valuable to this company. Think about it and please reconsider your decision".

Two hours later Klaus walked out of Liberty Mutual and was sitting in his car feeling satisfied for the first time in two days. He started the engine and backed the car when his cell rang. He saw Jason's name on the caller Id and wondered _'why was he calling him?'_

He picked up the phone and said "hello".

Jason said "I heard you were back in town. How about lunch"

Klaus said "where?" still racking his brain about what he wanted to talk to him about.

Jason said "Macrocosmic at 1:30 pm".

Klaus looked at his wrist watch and said "sure" and disconnected him.

Klaus smiled as he spotted Jason. He walked to him and said "hey man long time no see".

Jason said "are you kidding me? you are the one who has settled in New Orleans doing what? A detective. I still cannot believe the playboy Klaus Mikaelson has become a detective".

Klaus laughed and said "Yes, a lot of things have happened during the last five years that have surprised me too. Any way tell me about yourself. How is your business going?"

Jason said "well I have still managed to keep it on ground".

He looked towards the waiter and said "I want to have steak medium".

Klaus said "same but medium rare".

After the waiter was gone, Jason said "rare?! If I remember correctly you liked well done. I still remember the heated argument you had with the waiter in Doulches a few years back".

Klaus said with a smile "yes, this is some latest development. You were telling me about your business".

Jason said "oh yeah. I am just having a hard time with my secretary. Yesterday I had an interview with a young girl. She looks nice. Actually I wanted to talk to you about her".

Klaus asked while his heart skipped a beat "what do you mean?"

Jason said "It is Hayley Marshall. She works in your company and applied for the job but I wanted to let you know because offering her the job. I dont want you to feel as if I took your secretary away from you".

Klaus absorbed the information in shock and realized that she was changing jobs. Because of him?

He controlled the urge to tell him point blank that he does not want him to give her the job but thought better of it and said "I saw you two yesterday but I didn't know that she was applying for a job".

Jason said "hmmm". Then he leaned back and said "if you want me to not offer her the job I can do that".

Klaus said after a moment "that is fine by me if you give her a good package".

Jason said "sure?"

Klaus said "yes of course. she should think of what's best for her. If she is not happy with us then she has a right to look for a new job".

Soon after the waiter brought their meal and they started to eat while discussing about other random stuff but Klaus couldn't keep her out of his mind. The very fact that she was leaving the job in this health condition was not sitting well with him.

When Klaus entered the office he saw her standing with her back towards him. She was apparently talking to Elijah.

Hayley turned around as she heard the door open. She gulped as she saw him. She turned back to Elijah ignoring his "Ms Marshall".

Klaus looked at her back, felt the sinking feeling in his heart and said to Elijah "Elijah I will be leaving by the end of the week".

Hayley wondered what he was talking about but said to Elijah "… and your sister called. She wanted to talk to you but you were busy with Andrew so I just told her that you will call her back".

Elijah said picking up the phone "thank you Hayley".

Klaus looked at Hayley as she retreated and then back at Elijah who was dialing Rebekah's number.

He walked out of the office and went to her and said "I know you are leaving the job because of me".

When she didnt say anything he continued with a sinking heart "if I tell you that I will leave in a week will you reconsider your decision".

He noticed a change in her expression but still she didnt say anything.

He said "Ms Marshall dont leave this job on my account. I will be gone by the end of this week and Elijah is a good and caring boss. You should reconsider your decision".

Hayley still didn't know what to say so Klaus said "I need to talk to you about all of this before I leave. It will make matters much easy if you tell me where and when you want to meet".

She looked up and saw the guilt on his face but before she could say anything Elijah came out and said "Niklaus mother …"

Klaus spun towards him and said "what happened?"

Elijah said "she is in hospital. She had not been feeling well and about half an hour ago she had some heart trouble. Kol and Rebekah have taken her to the hospital"

He said to Hayley "cancel all my appointments" while heading towards the elevators.

Klaus looked around just for a second to see her standing with open mouth and concern on her face. He followed Elijah to the elevator while looking at his cell and saying "I have missed call from her too".

Later that afternoon she got an email from Jason offering her the job. She stared at the wordings of the email and the amount he was offering with awe and at once decided to take it but something was nagging her and she realized that she didn't want to leave this company. It was his presence that was making her uncomfortable. If he leaves then she can work here. But if she stays here he will always find a way to her.

She shook her head and wondered _'should she call Elijah and ask about his mother?' _and then she took out her cell and called his number.

Klaus was pacing in the corridor wondering 'what was happening in there?'

He looked at Rebekah who was sitting with her head on her hands and walked to her and said "everything will be okay. Elijah is with her. She will be okay".

Rebekah asked "can't you go in too?"

He shook his head and said "no. one person at a time".

Kol said angrily "what the hell Nik? Why can't this be resolved? Send her somewhere else. It is affecting mother's health now".

Klaus stood up and said "Kol, we cannot do anything. He left her…." He stopped talking as his gaze fell over his shoulder and he walked passed Kol and said "Ms Marshall. What are you doing here?"

Hayley hesitated cursing her decision to come visit Mrs. Lockwood and on top of that she had to face Klaus.

She said "I called Mr Mikaelson but his phone was not responding so I… I thought that…" She felt confused and then added "I think I should leave".

She was about to turn when she felt someone say loudly "is that her?"

Klaus spun around and said to Rebekah "Rebekah!"

He turned back to Hayley and saw her face turned white.

Hayley felt confused at the girl's outburst and then it hit her that Klaus had told his family. her gaze went to him and their eyes met. She asked "did you….".

Klaus looked at her in confusion and then realized that she thought that he had told his family. He said "no.." but she had already turned around and left.

Klaus ran after her and held her arm and stopped her and said "Hayley listen …" He stopped talking as she turned toward him.

Hayley turned towards him taking him by surprise as he saw tears in her eyes. She hissed "you told your family! Is that the reason your mother is lying in that hospital bed?"

Klaus stared at her for a moment and then he realized that he couldn't tell her the truth and said "no… " but Hayley cut him off by saying "I don't…" and before she knew it her hand swung in the air and landed on his cheek and she hissed stepping closer to him "I never thought you would put me in this situation. At least you could have thought about the impact of everything on Hope's life".

She turned around but not before she saw from her blurry eyes Rebekah and Kol looking at them. She headed towards the elevators leaving him bewildered. She stopped as Tyler walked out of the elevator.

Tyler asked "what are you doing here?"

Hayley wiped her tears and pried her arm free angrily and said "I came to check on Mrs. Lockwood".

She walked towards the elevator leaving him feeling confused too.

Tyler turned and walked towards Klaus who was still standing there looking at her. He asked "how is aunt Esther? Mom will be coming over anytime".

Klaus steered his eyes away from the direction she had walked to and said "she is fine. Elijah is with her".

Tyler asked him "are you okay?"

Klaus said "yes I am fine".

He led him to Rebekah and Kol. Kol had her arm around Rebekah who said "Elijah came out for a second and said mother is better now. She had an anxiety attack thanks god it was not a heart attack. Nik what happened with her? why did she…"

Klaus cut her off by saying "oh that is a great news".

Tyler said to Klaus "listen I need to talk to you about something".

Klaus said "what?"

Tyler said "come with me".

When Klaus walked with him to the window he said "Hayley is looking for a new job but I think she will never be able to find a more suitable job then this one. I was thinking if you can increase her pay may be she will stay back. Klaus she needs this job".

At his last sentence Klaus looked into his eyes wondering_ 'how much he knows? Does he know about cancer?_'

He asked trying to sound curious "why does she need this job?"

Tyler hesitated for a moment and then said "she has cancer and her treatment is pretty expensive".

Klaus looked at him wondering _'what else does he know?'_ whereas Tyler said "man you _are_ cold. you could at least show some reaction".

Klaus said "I… I am just too surprised. Why hasn't she told us?"

Tyler said with a bit of frustration "because she doesn't want pity. She is opposed to pity ever since…" he stopped talking as he realized what he was about to say but the damage was done.

It took all of Klaus's will power to not show any emotion as he realized that Tyler knew about the incidence that changed her life.

He said "okay I will talk to Elijah about it. It is bad news - about her cancer and we will do what we can to help her. She is a valuable asset to the company".

Tyler said with a sigh "she has been through a lot. She needs a break".

Klaus nodded and turned away but then added "don't tell anyone that I know about her cancer. If she wants to keep it a secret then let her have that".

He turned and left for the room where her mother was admitted.

That night Hayley thought of what he had said to her about him leaving and then opened the email Jason had send to her about the job and wondered what she should do under this situation. After the visit from the hospital she realized that she couldn't very well work with Elijah knowing that he knows about her and Klaus's past.

She thought _'Apex technology were offering her good money for sure but will they be able to understand her problems and how will her health condition affect her new job. Will she be able to get days off or early leave like she can get over here. What if she needs loan? will the company sanction it?'_

Next morning Elijah was not in the office so she gathered his mother must be still not well and for some reason she was grateful thinking that she will not have to face him.

The work was slow as he was not in the office so she spend a lot of time thinking about her prospects in future and at last she reached a decision. During lunch time she called Jason and said "I want to meet you".

Thirty minutes later she was led into Jason's office by a young girl. She said "Mr. Simpson".

Jason stood up and said with a smile "Ms Marshall".

After she took the seat opposite him, Jason asked "so what have you thought about it?"

Hayley said to Jason "I am thankful but for personal reason I cannot take this job".

Jason looked at her for a few moment and then asked "may I ask what are your personal reasons?"

Hayley said "I have a small daughter and because of that I cannot work late hours and your job description requires me to put in long hours".

Jason smiled and nodded "I understand. Unfortunately my day starts late and ends late too and I need someone who is willing to work late hours with me. Any way it was nice meeting you Ms Marshall".

Hayley got up and said "thank you. I am sorry but Mikaelson have been really good to me about my flexibility in the schedule".

Jason smiled and said "yes, I know Elijah is a good boss. How is he doing?"

Hayley hesitated and said "good".

Jason said "I was going to pay him a visit in a day or so".

Hayley thought for a moment and then said "his mother is not well so he is not in the office".

Jason said "oh really. I didn't know".

Hayley left Apex technology feeling satisfied for the first time in two days.

It was around noon, Klaus was sitting in his mother's room trying to think about her but his mind kept going back to Hayley and her assumption about their situation. He couldn't help but recall her and Tyler's interaction and wondered _'does he know? but if he knows then why had he not told anyone?'_

One thing he was sure of was that Tyler and Hayley had something going on- something that was not friendly but Tyler was still helping her. He recalled him standing up for her when she had asked for the loan, he had just asked him to raise her pay. Suddenly he felt a weird sensation in his stomach and he realized that he didn't like that relationship. He sat up as he thought _'does Tyler get to spend time with Hope too?' _

As the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly got annoyed and realized that he wanted to meet his daughter again. Thinking of her as his daughter felt strange to him but he realized that he liked the feeling he suddenly had. He knew that Hayley wouldn't let him meet her and he knew that he couldn't force her under these circumstances. He got up with frustration and walked to the window and looked out when he heard his mother's weak voice "Niklaus".

Klaus looked around and walked to her and help her hand and said "hey, how are you?"

Esther said "Niklaus, I want her gone. tell me you will fire her. I don't care how you do it. I want her gone. How could Mikael do this to me? He gave her share in the property. He made her our equal. I want her gone".

She started to get hysterical by the end of the sentence. Klaus said soothingly "Mother, we will handle it. Please dont worry yourself about it".

He looked as the nurse entered and said "Mr. Mikaelson, she needs to rest. You can visit a bit later. I will give her sedative".

He nodded, kissed her hand and watched the nurse giving her sedative. He let do of his mother's hand and retreated the room lost and confused. He was sitting in the lobby when he saw Caroline walking towards him hurriedly. She came close to him and hugged him and said "I am sorry I couldn't come early. I had the class".

Klaus pulled back and said "it is fine. She is better now. Doctor has given her sedative".

Caroline held his hand and sat down next to him and said "it will be okay. I am here now. Everything will be okay".

As Caroline sat with him, talked to him casually about his mother and about their night together which for some reason made him uncomfortable and left him wondering why was he feeling that way? As she went to visit his mother in her room, he realized that while he was listening to her talk his mind was busy thinking about Hayley. All of a sudden his mind went to her job interview with Jason. His hands were itching to call Jason to find out if she has accepted the job or not but then decided against it. He suddenly realized that he had been thinking about her more than Caroline these days even thought Caroline had been sitting with him comforting him for two hours.

Half an hour after Caroline left, he left too after kissing his mother on her cheek. He was walking out of the hospital when he saw him walking towards him. He fixed a smile on his face and said "what are you doing here Jason?"

Jason said "heard about your mother. Is she doing any better?"

Klaus felt his heart skip a beat and said "yes she is fine. Who told you?"

Jason said "Ms Marshall".

He said "hmmm" and then hesitated for a second and then asked "so what happened with Ms Marshall. Have you offered her the job?"

Jason said "She came to my office today and refused my offer. I hope you had nothing to do with it".

Klaus said in confusion "what do you mean? Why would I tell her not to take a good offer?"

Jason said with a knowing smile "I have known you for a long time Klaus and I can see through the layers you have on you. I tell you about her giving interview for the job and then two days later she refused the job offer. Any way she said that she cannot work long hours because of her daughter but it sounds too good to be true".

Klaus said "she does have a daughter. I don't know why she refused your offer but yes she does have a daughter and she does not work late hours with us too".

They talked for a while on general topic and then Jason left and Klaus went to his penthouse too.

Two days after Esther's anxiety attack, when Elijah entered the office he saw her sitting on her chair. He walked to her and said "hello Ms Marshall".

Hayley was so absorbed in her work that she didnt sense him. Hearing his voice made her jump out of her chair. She suddenly felt really nervous making her frustrated that she was getting nervous from a man who had been such a source of comfort to her. She asked nervously "how is your mother Mr. Mikaelson".

Elijah said feeling confused by her nervousness "she is fine now. She will be coming home today".

Hayley smiled and said "that is great".

She brushed her hair out of her forehead and groaned as she felt strands of hair in her hand. She closed her fist so that he cannot see it and said "I wanted to tell you that I have refused Jason's Simpson's offer".

Elijah felt as if someone threw cold water on him and realized at that moment that ever since the anxiety attack he was kind of hoping that she would accept the offer.

Hayley looked at his face and couldn't help but notice the disappointment and her heart sank as she thought _'so they know and he does not want me in this company anymore'._

She said dejectedly "i will bring you coffee in a few minutes".

Elijah nodded and went in his office.

As she entered his office with the cup of coffee, she stopped as her eyes met Klaus's. She put the coffee on the table and retreated without saying anything.

She sat on her chair and closed her eyes as she suddenly felt dizzy.

Hayley was leaning against her chair with her eyes closed when she heard argument.

She sat up and looked around and saw Klaus and Elijah standing in the office talking to some one on the speaker phone. As she looked towards the office, her eyes met with Klaus's.

She got up at the same time Elijah disconnected the call angrily and rubbed his forehead in frustration.

Elijah said to Klaus "now what do we do?"

Klaus said "I am already hating this Stenson guy".

Elijah said "he was a difficult client but much better then his wife. So you can Imagine".

He looked towards her and gestured her to come in.

As she entered, Elijah said "I have to go back again but mother needs me and then Andrew needs help with his case so I have to cancel…."

He looked at Klaus who was staring at the paper weight he had picked up from the desk and said "you are going back so why dont you take this case?"

Klaus laughed and said "I dont know the ABC of this case".

Elijah thought for a moment and then it hit him. He thought _'Why not send Hayley to New Orleans. It will give her a chance to see the New Orleans office and when she comes back he can suggest her to go there. By that time may be he will be able to calm his mother down'. _

He said "Hayley knows. She can go with you".

Hayley felt her heart jump into her throat. She at once said "I cannot go with him. I have Hope to take care of".

Before Elijah could say anything Klaus said while keeping his eyes on the paper weight "bring her with you".

He could feel her eyes on him but didn't look up.

Hayley looked at him in shock but noticed that he was not looking at her.

She said "I…" but before she could say anything else Elijah said "it is a great idea. Why don't you two go. You will get a break too and Hope will have fun in New Orleans too".


	10. Chapter 10 Silver lining 3

**_A/N: thanks for the wonderful reviews. I am glad you are enjoying the story. This chapter has gone super long. There is nothing much going on but elaborated scenes LOL. I hope you enjoy it. _**

**_Synopsis: Hayley goes to New Orleans with Klaus to help with the case. She finds out some things from her past and Klaus's background. _**

* * *

><p>Firmly convinced about his plan Elijah said "Hayley this case is really important. We need to win it. I need to win this".<p>

Hayley said "Mr. Mikaelson, I …" She couldn't help but look at Klaus who was looking at her with a weird expression.

She wondered _'why is Elijah doing this to her? Putting her in the spot knowing well what happened between her and Klaus. But what can she do? He has just increased her salary, has been so nice to her and she needs this job. The increase in pay will help her a lot". _

She was lost in her thoughts when Elijah leaned back and said "I can give you another incentive Hayley. You will get a big bonus if we win this case".

Her heart sank and she said "that is very tempting but…"

She stopped talking as she sensed Klaus shift in his spot. Before she could continue she heard him say "if I didnt know better Ms Marshall, it seems like you dont want to come with _me_".

Hayley could help but suspect that he was being sarcastic. She looked at him with annoyance missing the confused look Elijah gave him too immediately followed by his very cold chide "Niklaus, this is not time to make jokes. Hayley, Niklaus will need you in New Orleans".

Klaus couldn't help but smile at the irony of what Elijah had just said to Hayley. But he waited anxiously for her reply.

When at last she nodded even though he could see her reluctance in that nod he couldn't help but feel relieved and at the same time he realized that he had been holding his breath for the past few seconds. The first thought that crossed his mind was 'good, he will be able to talk about their situation'.

Hayley asked "when are we…." when the door opened and they all turned around to see Caroline enter Elijah's office.

Klaus instinctively looked at Hayley but her face didnt reveal anything except for a genuine smile that someone has when they meet a neutral person. She said "good morning Ms. Forbes".

Caroline smiled and said "Ms Marshall right?"

When Hayley nodded she said "how are you Ms Marshall? I almost didn't recognize you. You seem to have lost a lot of weight".

She turned to Elijah and said "Elijah you shouldn't be making her work so much".

Klaus gaze darted to Hayley and he realized Caroline was right. Hayley had lost a lot of weight but it was not a matter of curiosity for him any more as he remembered the reason for that. He suddenly felt uncomfortable but Hayley just smiled and said "I am fine. How about you?"

Caroline walked to Klaus and linked her arms in his and said "I am fabulous. Just preparing for the wedding. It is on 25th June. You have to come being Klaus and Elijah's secretary".

Elijah felt a wave of annoyance at those words.

Hayley felt as if the ground slipped from under her foot. She asked still smiling "25th June?!" at the same time noticing Klaus's eyes on her.

Klaus felt Caroline lean in and kiss him and said "have you come back from home?"

Caroline said "yes, she is fine. Rebekah was with her. She seemed really tense up about something and didn't seem herself".

Hayley turned to Elijah and said "Mr. Mikaelson, is there anything else that i can help you with?"

Caroline chipped in "if you don't mind, can i get a coffee".

Hayley looked at her with surprise whereas Klaus said in an undertone "Caroline".

Caroline smiled and said "what? she is a secretary. what is the harm? Did you mind it Hayley?"

Hayley's eyes went to Klaus involuntarily and she said "no, I will get it for you". She turned to leave and but then stopped and looked at Klaus and added sarcastically "Mr Mikaelson ?"

Klaus couldn't help but feel the sarcasm in her voice. He said "no, I am fine".

Later that night while lying on her bed after throwing up a lot, thinking about her future, frustrated at her health condition, all of a sudden not being able to stay with Hope all the time. She stared at Hope playing with her doll and thought _'may be that will be a good break for both of them. She will be able to spend time with Hope at last'_ .

She got up and went to her and sat on the ground with her. Hope looked at Hayley and said "mommy, better".

Hayley smiled and said "yes, mommy is feeling better sweetie".

She asked her brushing her hair out of her eyes "do you want to go on a plane ride".

Hope got up excitedly saying "yes".

She hugged Hayley tightly and kissed her on her cheek. Hayley kissed her back and felt calm wash over her as she felt her tiny warm arms around her neck. She said "lt's go, it is time to sleep".

She did her sleeping routine and then put her to her bed. After reaching her room she picked up her cell and wondered 'where will she get his number?' and then remembered that he had called her once.

She put the cell down and decided to call him the first thing in the morning.

Next morning it was Saturday, even though the office was closed still Elijah and Klaus were discussing Stensons case in the office. While listing to Elijah Klaus was thinking '_where to start and what should he tell him. Should he start from werewolf part or the rape part or …_ '

His thought were interrupted by the tone of the cell. He picked it up and straightened in the set as he saw her name on the caller ID.

Hayley looked up as she saw Klaus enter the coffee shop. She said as he took the seat across her "Mr Mikaelson I am willing to go with you under some conditions".

when Klaus continued to look at her questioningly she continued "number one we will never discuss about our past. And you will never tell any one about what relationship you have with Hope and that includes your family, Hope and our friends".

Klaus opened his mouth to say something when she continued "number two I will not let her out of my sight even for a second. She will stay with me at all times. Even during the meetings with our clients".

She paused for a second and then said "thirdly, I will not stay with you during our stay".

When he continued to stay quiet, she started to feel nervous and said "if these are acceptable to you then I will go with you otherwise you can handle that case alone".

Klaus stared at her face which was looking very tired and he could see circles under her eyes. At last he nodded. Hayley started to get up when he said "we need to talk. Please sit".

Hayley said "Mr. Mikaelson. I don't think it is a good idea".

She got up and left. Klaus remained seated thinking about how to reach out to her and make her talk to him. He thought '_may be they will be able to talk in New Orleans'. _

Before she knew it she was on the plane to New Orleans with him. She was sitting in the first class for the first time after a very long time. Klaus was sitting across the aisle from her seat whereas Hope was seated between them. Even though she was not really sure about why and what she was doing she couldn't help but smile at Hope's excitement at sitting on the plane. Klaus had not talked to her since they left for the airport. She kept on giving him curious glances and that sweet smile which just melted his heart and he felt like holding her but he thought that Hayley might not like it. He knew he had to ease into this new relationship with Hope. After being in the air for an hour during which he saw her entertaining Hope by different small toys to keep her busy, she finally settled with reading a book for her.

Klaus looked at her reading a book to Hope and couldn't help but admire that small view. He noticed she closed her eyes for a moment. He took off his seat belt and walked to her and said "Ms Marshall can I read to her?"

Hayley looked up at him and said "no, it is okay" but she suddenly felt dizzy and a nausea hit her and she ducked her head in between her legs and the words were out "yes" but someone handed her the paper bag. She took it from him and breath into it. She was breathing into the bag when she heard Hope say "mommy!" but before she could reply someone handed her a glass of sprite. She looked up and saw him standing there with what looked like worry like expression to her. She took it from his hand and said "motion sickness".

Klaus looked at her pale completion and admired her will to hide the facts from him. He said to Hope "I can read this book for you".

He took the book from Hayley.

The rest of the journey was smooth for him and Hope but he could see that Hayley was not well as she rested her head on the head rest. He felt helpless at not being able to help her. He saw her go to the bathroom twice and he knew she was throwing up.

At last they reached New Orleans. He looked at her and smiled as he saw that Hope had gone to sleep.

Hayley unbuckled herself and then she unbuckled Hope and started to carry her but he said "I can…"

She said firmly "it is fine I can pick her up".

Klaus said "yes you can but considering you can fall on ground at any time. I don't think it is a good idea for you to carry her in such a condition".

Hayley said "Mr Mikaelson… " but Klaus cut her off by saying softly "Ms Marshall please don't make a scene".

Hayley looked around and realized that he was right. People were starting to look at them. She stepped aside realizing he was also right about her not feeling well too.

He lifted Hope up and suddenly felt really wired as her warm body touched his torso. He wondered '_he had carried kids during his job so why was this feeling so different?'_

After leaving the airport, he walked her to his car he had left parked in the airport parking lot. Hayley was surprised to see that it was a jeep and realized that she never associated him with a jeep. He put Hope in her carseat in the back seat. As she started to settle down with Hope in the back seat he said "if i was willing to listen to your demands or i am willing to meet your demands".

Hayley said "you are in no position to ask for anything Mr. Mikaelson".

Klaus took a deep breath and said calmly "I already know that but I would appreciate if you would give me the courtesy of sitting in the front seat and not act as if I am your driver".

Hayley stared at him and then nodded thinking _'why make a mountain out of molehill'._

She sat in the front seat of the car after buckling Hope in the back seat and the first vibe she got was that it was a very masculine car. She buckled herself.

As he pulled out the car, he said, the fist word all day to her "I have to stop at the bank for something. Do you want to wait or come in".

Hayley said "does not matter".

She then looked at Hope in the back seat and saw that she was awake. Hope said "mommy bathroom".

Hayley looked at Klaus and said "I need to take her to the bathroom".

Klaus said "come in then".

He was waiting for her to come out of the bathroom and smiled as he heard her say "mommy, did you see that big white bird? it was so shinny".

They were walking towards the door when he saw it, the man with a big jacket entering the bank. Klaus groaned and the slightly shifted and came in front of Hope. Hayley looked at him in confusion and then after following his gaze she saw him looking at the person in the jacket. He touched her shoulder and slightly pushed her in one direction behind a counter.

He said "shh" to her. Hayley snuggled Hope close to her and stared at her. He peeked up and said "dont even think about coming out until I come for you".

Klaus jumped over the counter landing soundlessly on his feet and sneaked behind the person standing holding the gun facing the manager. He grabbed him from behind and twisted his arm to his back and snatched the gun from him. He pushed him on the ground and put his knee on his back pinning him to the ground.

He turned around as he heard someone say "thank you sir, we got it from here".

He looked at the officer addressing him. He got up and stood aside and saw the officer putting putting cuffs on the man's wrist.

The man they had just apprehended started shouting "he broke my arm. He broke my arm be careful. I will sue this department".

The officer Ignored him and said "someone pressed the silent alarm".

Klaus looked at the man as he shouted it again "he broke my arm".

He looked at his arm and wondered_ 'could it be that his newly found werewolf strength caused him to fracture the man's arm'_ but the officer said to him "shut up".

He turned to Klaus sand said "thank you sir".

Klaus nodded and headed towards the door.

Hayley looked at Hope and wondered 'what was happening?

She looked over the counter and saw him walking towards the door. She saw him talking to someone in police uniform. As she saw the police officer checked something he handed him over and smiled and then shook his hand.

Klaus walked back to the bank and went straight to her and asked "are you okay?"

He was suddenly thrown a few steps back as Hope ran to him and hugged him taking both of them by surprise.

On the ride to her hotel she looked at him and asked "so police in New Orleans know Mikealson".

Klaus looked at her and said while changing the lanes "they know me because of my job".

Hayley couldn't help but ask "so, Mikaelson's law firm is well known in New orleans' police department too?"

Klaus looked at her again and wondered _'does she not know?'_ but said "No. I only work at my father's firm when I have some time off from my full time job here in New Orleans".

She hesitated just for a moment and then asked "what is it that you do?"

Klaus changed the lanes while looking at the side mirrors and said without looking at her "I am a detective".

He felt her eyes on him and smiled and asked "why so surprised Ms Marshall".

Hayley asked after feeling flustered for a second from his smile "but aren't you a lawyer?"

When he didnt say anything she was left to wonder _'why would he be a detective when his father owns a law company?!'_

He said after a few silent minutes "I have booked a room in Sheraton for you. I have a meeting with Stensons's wife day after tomorrow and I want to get over the details of the case before we do that. It is Sunday tomorrow. Where do you want to meet?"

Hayley thought _'some public place will be good_'. She said "I dont know this hotel. Is there a good coffee shop?"

Klaus said "sure, I will pick you up at 12 in the afternoon tomorrow. My apartment is twenty minutes from your place".

Hayley nodded. Klaus stopped the car in front of the hotel and got out. He took out her bag whereas she got Hope out. She was about to take the car seat out when he said "you can leave it there. I will be your ride while you are in New Orleans".

Hayley looked at him for a moment and then left the car seat there. She followed him in and and ten minutes later they entered her room he had booked for her.

Hope ran in the room and tried to get on the big bed. Hayley instinctively said "Hope no shoes on the bed".

Klaus walked in and put them near the door and said "I think you will find everything here you need for yourself and for Hope".

Hayley looked around the big room which was as big as her small apartment. She said "yes, thank you".

She walked to the bed and picked Hope up and put her on the ground.

Klaus looked at Hope for a few seconds and then said with a smile "see you at 12 tomorrow". He turned and left her.

Hayley settled her things in the room while she watched Hope happily bouncing in the room. Seeing her giggling and chattering non stop was making her really content and she managed to push her nervousness at the prospect of meeting him the next day.

While Hayley was nervous Klaus was having a very restless night too in the anticipation of next day. He was feeling excited, nervous, worried and flustered all at the same time about seeing both of them. When he couldn't sleep for a long time he picked up his cell and called Caroline. After talking to her for a few minutes he started to feel better but then she started to talk about their wedding and future so he started to get frustrated and get bored. At last he told her that he wanted to sleep but even after putting the cell down he was still not able sleep till near dawn.

Next morning after getting up she changed her clothes and Hope's, she was wondering what to do about the breakfast. She picked up the phone on the table and called the front desk and asked "do you have a breakfast service available?"

the lady said "yes madam which room are you talking from?"

Hayley said "306".

The lady said "we can send the breakfast to your room right now. It has already been arranged".

Hayley wondered who did that and then it hit her, it must be him.

She looked at Hope and decided to have breakfast in the room.

After breakfast she put her some cartoons on for her and opened her file to brush up on the case before her meeting with Klaus.

Next morning when he woke up it was already 11 am so he hurriedly dressed up and left for her hotel feeling excited at the prospect of seeing Hope and at the same time nervous at the prospect of seeing Hayley. Klaus got out of the elevator and headed towards her room determined to talk to her about them and Hope after their case discussion.

He knocked at her room and waited patiently for her to open it.

Hayley looked around as she heard the knock and groaned as she saw that Hope had gone to sleep. She opened the door wondering_ what will she say to him. _

Klaus smiled and said "ready?"

Hayley looked back toward Hope. Klaus followed her gaze and saw that Hope was sleeping. He said "we can always discuss the case in here".

Hayley head spun towards him and she suddenly felt awkward at the prospect of spending time with him alone in her room but then she realized that she didnt have any options so she said "sure" and stepped aside.

Klaus said with a smile "let me get my files".

He turned and left again.

Ten minute later he came back during which Hayley calmed her nerves and told herself to act normal to not make matters worse for herself and Hope. She put the duvet on Hope and turned around as she heard the knock on her door.

As Klaus entered the room, the first thing he noticed was her bare feet which was not what he was used to seeing her like.

For the next two hours they discussed the case. She brought him up to date about the case and he gave her notes.

He ordered lunch after an hour and they ate while discussing the case.

He said "so Julie Stenson is the owner of the steels mill alone. She is the sole beneficiary from that after her husband dies but he is still alive… " he was interrupted when his cell rang.

He picked up the cell and smiled.

Hayley was listening to him intently when she saw the smile on his face. He said "excuse me".

She nodded and got up to get up to check on Hope and wondered 'must be Caroline'. But when she heard him say "Alexis, what is going on?" she said to herself "so a playboy always remains a playboy".

After some time he said "some time this week. I have a few to handle first and then i will be back to work".

He laughed taking her by surprise and said "yes I need to meet him. It has been a while".

He then said "I have to go. Why don't we meet at Tullly. Bring Alex along".

After he put the cell down Hayley asked him "how did you become detective?" taking him and her by surprise.

Klaus picked up the file and while scanning it he said "I went to Harvard law when I was 22. Same year when I … " he stopped talking for a second and then continued "I started to remember every thing the very next day. The only thing I couldn't remember was your face and even though it bothered me, I didnt take any action to deal with it. I was so immature. In my second year of law I was still have nightmares about what I did to you. By that time I had matured somewhat perhaps because of what I was studying or for some other reason and I had realized that I couldn't do anything about what happened to you but I could help others. I took extra course over summer and finished my degree earlier then I was supposed to. After that I enrolled in the academy as soon as I finished law. And to my surprise I loved it. Two years in service I became eligible for detective exam which was a piece of cake and viola, here I am a detective".

Hayley looked at him wondering _'so he did all this because of the guilt he was feeling for what he did!' _but asked "why New Orleans?"

Klaus said flipping through the papers in the file "because of Elijah. We have a company here so it made sense to be here and New Orleans is a very busy city".

Hayley was about to say something when she saw Hope sit up on the bed. She said "Hope is up. Let me settle her down and then we can make that plea agreement".

HE nodded and saw her take Hope to the bathroom and close the door behind her.

He put his head on the back of the sofa and closed his eyes and didnt realize when he dozed off.

Hayley came out of the bathroom after washing Hope's face. She looked towards him and groaned as she saw him sleeping on the sofa. She sighed and then walked to him and said "Mr Mikaelson".

Klaus heard her voice and opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Hope standing near Hayley.

Hayley said "Mr Mikaelson this is highly unprofessional. Please refrain from doing that in future".

Klaus stared at her and started to feel angry at her but didnt say anything. He looked at Hope and said "hello Hope".

Hope smiled shyly and said "Klaus".

Klaus suddenly felt worse and realized it was because of her calling him by his name and not dad.

He abruptly got up and said "I have to go".

Hayley looked at him confusion and said "but the plea agreement".

Klaus said "you can make that. Can you not? But if you cannot for some reason then we can do it in the morning before the meeting".

Hayley couldn't help but notice that he was staring at Hope with weird expression. He looked up and their eyes met- hers confusion and his aggrieved. He looked away and left the room.

Klaus left the hotel feeling confused about what had happened. He spend the next hour pacing in his room thinking about her and Hope and wondered 'if it was bothering him that he called her by his name then how would he feel if someone else comes in her life eventually and take his place as Hope's father".

He left his apartment to meet Alexis and Alex. Meeting them helped lift his mood and by the time he came back he was feeling relaxed and his mind was fresh. He went to sleep with the last thought about Hayley and Hope.

Next morning when he woke up it was raining really hard. He got up changed his clothes and left the apartment. He called her from her cell and told her to meet him in the lobby.

After Hayley and Hope settle down in his car he drove towards the office. They had a meeting with Julie Stensons. Klaus proposed the plea agreement that she had prepared and after discussing with her for an hour and changing a few things they agreed on common ground.

During the meeting Hope was sitting in his office playing with a few toys that she had brought with her and a secretary was keeping an eye on her.

After their meeting ended Klaus looked out of the window and saw the rain storming down the window and the wind picking up. He said to her "lets go. I want you and Hope in your hotel room before the storms picks up".

Hayley said "the case is wrapped, when are Hope and I going back?"

Klaus said "After you and I talk about our situation".

Hayley said "Mr. Mikaelson we talked about it didn't we. I realize that you want to make up for what happened but you cannot. I have worked very hard to forget about it and I have succeeded somewhat so please don't stir the hornets nest. I realize that we cannot avoid each other seeing your connection with Hope and I work for your brother but I don't want to talk about it".

Klaus sighed and led her to his jeep. As there were driving towards the hotel Hayley and he noticed the heavy wind making the tall trees swing like they were nothing. There was water collected at different place. He stopped the jeep as they saw the road blocked because of the water gathered during the rain.

He said "the road is flooded. There is no other way to go to the hotel".

He looked around and then added "I think the weather is getting really nasty. You and Hope should be safe at my place until this calms down".

Hayley abruptly said "no!"

Klaus looked at her and said "then tell me Ms Marshall what should we do".

Hayley looked around desperately and then turned toward Hope who had fallen asleep and then at Klaus feeling apprehensive. She caught him looking at her. She said after thinking "okay".

When she entered his apartment thirty minutes later she looked around and saw tasteful masculine touch. He led her to a room, put Hope on the bed and said "you can freshen up in here and feel at home until the storm settles down and the roads are cleared".

After freshening himself during which he felt weird having Hayley and Hope in his house he went to he living room. He realized it was the mixture of apprehension and excitement. Having Hope under the same roof was something he had been craving for the past few days and now he had her. He wished he could keep her with him as he turned on the Tv and flipped through the channels ideally and stopped at animal documentary channel. He was watching it absentmindedly still thinking of how to resolve the issue between Hayley and him when he sensed someone looking at him. He looked around and saw Hope standing near the sofa. He hesitated and then gestured her to come over. A grin broke on her face and she walked to him and sat on the sofa next to him. Klaus looked at the animal documentary he was watching and flipped the channels until he found a cartoon. He felt her shift near him and he smiled. He felt weird as she relaxed down further and after some deliberation put his arm around her shoulder and brought her close to him.

Hayley got out of the bathroom and gasped as she saw the empty bed. She dashed outside and stopped when she saw her snuggled against Klaus. with his arm around her and her thumb in her mouth and legs bend.

Klaus was looking at the screen but his mind was somewhere else. He had realized in the past ten minutes of feeling the warmth from her body and the giggles that escaped her mouth on the cartoon she was watching, he knew that he would never be able to let her go but he knew that that was near to impossible to have her with him all the time. There was his and Hayley's current situation to deal with first. She was still angry at him and he knew in his heart that she and a right to be. She would never let him be her father and then there is Caroline. How will she react when she will find out. They are getting married in June. He suddenly looked up and saw her standing there. He said "we are watching sponge bob. It has been a while since I have watched them. this is fun".

Hayley calmed her nerves down and said "yes, watching cartoons can really be fun activity".

She walked to Hope and said "Hope honey, you cannot leave your room without telling mommy".

She held her hand and pulled her up but she snuggled against him and said a bit loudly "I want to see"

Her eyes met Klaus's and she suddenly felt him too close to him. She stepped back and said "okay but next time you have to tell mommy before leaving any place. Bedroom, car, hotel, shop anyplace".

Hayley sat down on the single sofa next to the one they were sitting on and started looking at the TV but she wondered _'what is she going to do?'_

She looked up as she saw a loud howling voice from the room. Klaus said "wind".

Hayley asked "do you have storms often?"

Klaus said "once in a while" without looking at her.

Hayley looked at both of them and then said "it is getting late, I want to go to our hotel".

Klaus said "not until the weather calms down a bit. You are not leaving in this condition".

Hayley looked at him for a while and then went to the room.

Hayley looked out and wondered _'when will the storm end and she will be able to leave his apartment'_

She was lost in her thought when Hope ran in and said "look mommy".

Hayley took the … from her hand and said "sweetie where did you get it from? It is very expensive".

Hope said "Klaus gave it to me. He said I have it".

Hayley said "he said you can have it but that does not mean that you can take anything from him. He is a stranger honey".

Klaus felt his heart clutch in his heart as he heard her say that. But then he smiled as he heard Hope say adamantly "but he is my friend mommy".

Hayley sighed and said "hmm. He is okay because mommy knows him but you cannot be friends with any stranger. Alright honey?"

Klaus waited for her to say anything but when she didn't Klaus assumed that she must have nodes because he heard Hayley say after a few seconds "okay good. Now tell me what is it?"

He heard her say "it is a shinny star mommy".

Klaus knocked at her door a few hours later. When she opened he said "the weather forecast says that it will end in the morning. You are stuck here. I know you dont have any stuff. If you need anything for yourself and Hope tell me I will get them".

Hayley said "no, I dont. thank you".

Klaus looked at her for a moment and then said "I have to go out for a few minutes, will be back soon. Will you be okay?"

Before she could stop herself the words were out "the weather is really bad".

Klaus said with a smile "I know. I am used to this. This is my life".

He turned and left.

Hayley stood there looking at him leaving the apartment and then closed the door.

She didnt know when she fell asleep next to Hope.

Later that night when he came home, he laid on his bed and thought about Hayley and Hope sleeping under his roof. He was feeling really weird and wondered if he could have that in his life but then he told himself that he cannot think like that. He is engaged to Caroline. He took out his cell and started to call her but then he remembered their last conversation and he thought 'she will start with the wedding preparations again. Not in a mood'.

He turned to his side and closed his eyes and suddenly remembered Hope's warm body against his when they were watching cartoons. He didnt know that he was smiling when he went to sleep.

Next morning when she woke up she felt disoriented and then realized where she was. She sat up at once and cursed herself for sleeping so comfortably in the house of the person who had raped her. She got out of bed and saw that it was 8 in the morning and saw Hope still sleeping. She went to the bathroom and after freshening herself up she opened the door and came out.

She followed the sound and saw him making something in the kitchen.

Klaus sensed her even before turing back and said "I brought you a few things last night".

She looked at his back and said rather angrily said "I told you I dont need anything".

He turned and looked at her without saying anything. Hayley felt nervous for some reason and realized that she was being unnecessary angry at him. She picked up the brown bag on the counter and looked inside. She couldn't help but smile to see tooth brushes inside.

She went back to her room and was brushing her teeth when she suddenly remember something. She groaned said to herself "oh no. It is first already".

She walked out and looked at Hope rubbing her eyes sitting on the bed. she absentmindedly changed her and came out. She took her to the kitchen and saw him still standing there drinking his coffee.

He looked at hope and smile at her and said "good morning".

Hope said "good morning". She looked at Hayley and said "mommy milk".

Hayley instinctively looked at Klaus who pointed towards the fridge. She felt weird opening his fridge and taking out his food. When she turned towards him with a the milk carton in her hand, he said "the office is closed today because of the storm and the main road to your hotel is blocked because of flooded water so we cannot go anywhere but I still have to go to station in a few hours. I will be back soon".

Hayley said taking the glass he was offering and pouring milk in it "I thought you were on leave".

Klaus said "yes I was taking some personal time. But now I have to notify my boss that I am back and I will start working in a few days".

She nodded and looked around for the bread. She spotted it behind him. Klaus stepped aside as he saw her gaze went to the bread. He said "Ms Marshall, now that we are stranded in the house, I want to talk about Hope. I want to be part of Hope's life. How can we manage that?"

Hayley took the bread out and said "you can meet her whenever you want after talking to me and promise that you will not tell anyone what relationship you have with her".

Klaus felt his heart sink but said "thanks".

She gave Hope the bread as she drank her milk. Hope said "jam".

Hayley said "honey I don't think Mr Mikaelson has …." but she stopped talking as he handed her the jam bottle.

She put the jam on the bread and sat next to her as she ate her food happily. Thinking that she should be eating something with her condition Klaus asked "what do you want to eat?"

Hayley looked at him and said "I am fine thank you".

Klaus stared at her without saying anything for a moment and then put two bread in the toaster and got a glass out of cupboard and the milk carton and put them on the small table. He took the bread out of the toaster and put it on the plate, placed the plate in front of her and walked out of the kitchen.

When he came back after half an hour, the dishes were washed and there was still one bread piece on a plate. He sighed and poured himself a cup of coffee and went back to the living room. He smiled as he saw Hope standing near a sofa. He gestured her to come sit with him on the soft. Hope excitedly went to him and settled down next to him. She suddenly relaxed and nestled into his arms which automatically went around her shoulder.

She was pacing in her room thinking about the loan dead line she was about to miss. She sat on the bed and held her head in her hands and then decided to talk to Sam to extend the date. She picked up the cell and dialed his number.

As the call connected she said "hey Sam how are you?"

Sam said "Hayley, how is it going?"

Hayley said "good. listen i wanted to say if I could get an extension on the loan".

there was quiet for a few seconds and then she heard him say "but your loan had been paid off".

Hayley asked "by whom?"

Sam said "some Niklaus Mikalesons".

Hayley felt all the air sucked out of her and then suddenly she got extremely angry. She controlled her anger and said "okay thank you Sam. Have a nice day".

She put the cell down and walked out of his room.

Klaus was watching Tv with Hope when she marched in and said angrily "how dare you? I don't need your pity" startling Hope.

Klaus felt her tiny body jump next to him and his heart skipped a beat. He stood up and said "what happened Hayley?"

Hayley shouted "Ms Marshall and how could you pay my debt".

Klaus didn't say anything for a moment and then said calmly but in a firm voice "considering the circumstances we both are in I think I will stick with Hayley and as for paying your debt. It was your money and I paid that debt from your money".

Hayley looked at him lost for words, said with annoyance "are you crazy? I don't have that kind of money. Do you think if I had that kind of money I would have taken loan from the company".

Klaus looked at her for a moment and then at Hope and said "first of all you are scaring Hope and secondly…" He paused for a second and then continued "my father left you one million dollars in his will Hayley".

Hayley thought that she didnt hear it right so she asked "what?"

Klaus said calmly "he left you one million dollar in his will".

She asked in confusion "what? why?"

He didn't know what to say so he kept quiet. Hayley was looking at him waiting for his answer but when he didn't say anything she started to have a sinking feeling in her stomach and she knew.

Klaus saw realization dawn on her and her hands went to her mouth and heard her say "Oh my God you think that I… he is old enough to be my father. Oh God".

The wave of nausea that she had been controlling since morning swept over her and she doubled over and took deep breaths and then stood up and saw him looking at her. She said "do you think too that I had an affair with your father? Is that the reason you suspect I got the job?"

When he didnt say anything she turned and went to her room.

She sat on the bed thinking of what she had found out. She looked back at the time she spend with Mikael and wondered _'did others think that too? What gave them this impression?'_

She suddenly remembered Rebekah's reaction in the hospital and she realized that it was not about them finding out about Klaus and her but because they all knew and that led her to think about the anxiety attack Mrs. Lockwood had and she groaned and said to herself "so it all happened because of her".

She stood up and walked out and said "Mr. Mikaelson I want to go back tomorrow".

Klaus stared at her lost for words but she had already turned and gone back.

Klaus walked to the room and said through the closed door "I am going out for a few hours. Don't leave the house".

He got into his car and drove in the horrendous weather condition. He saw a lot of cars stuck in the flooded road and even got out to help out a family stuck in the flooded road. After helping them he went to the station. He went to his captain's office after greeting his colleges, the ones in the station.

He said to his captain "Ben I am going to join the force day after tomorrow. But I don't want to see injustice to human faction or innocents. I cannot just sit and let the werewolves and vampires do what they are doing".

Ben said "Klaus you have to pick your battles. We have to make up with vampire faction to maintain peace in New Orleans. Things are under control right now. We cannot afoot to start a fight with vampires and werewolves and witches. You have to see the bigger picture. Do you want to kill a few vampires or save the whole human faction of French Quarter and New Orleans in general. There is no way to neutralize the vampires but if we put our hand in the beehive those bees will sting every single human in New Orleans. It took me a a long time to see the bigger picture but I think you will do better then me. You just follow law and solve cases. You dont have to close your eyes to every thing. Find justice but keep your eye on the bigger picture".

Klaus listened to him carefully and then asked "and how are you going to cover my being a …" He paused for a second and then said after looking around "you know".

Ben leaned back on his chair and said "well we obviously cannot tell them or let them find out your secret. Under no circumstances Alexis is to know who you are. I will make sure your secret remains a secret. It is good to have you back. I know it is complicated under the circumstances but you have made the right decision. You can help maintain law by being in a position to do so".

Klaus nodded and left not fully satisfied but decided to give it a try.

He then drove to a coffee shop and after two hours of thinking about his actions and his options he drove back.

Hayley was lost in her thoughts angrily thinking of what Klaus had done. She said to herself "how dare he pay her loan? How could Mikael leave her so much money and how could he think that she was having an affair with him".

She looked at Hope who said "mommy milk".

Hayley sighed, cursed the storm, went to the kitchen and poured milk for her in a cup and gave it to her.

She then took her to the room and laid her on the bed for her afternoon nap. After Hope went to sleep out of blue Hayley realized that he had been gone for four hours. She suddenly felt worried as she looked outside the window. As the feeling hit her she got a surprise and chided herself to stop worrying about him. He can take care of himself, she told herself. She startled as she heard the front door open and then close.

Klaus walked to her room, knocked at it and said "Hayley I need to talk to you about something".

Hayley looked up and said angrily "I dont want to talk about our past".

Klaus said "I know. I want to talk to you about our future".

Hayley said "what future? The only thing between us our daughter. _We_ dont have a future".

Klaus said "can you come out in the living room? You are disturbing Hope".

Hayley looked at Hope and realized he was right. She was stirring in her sleep. She nodded and walked out to the living room.

Klaus said calmly "I want Hope in my life and I have realized that I cannot disclose her true parentage without revealing how she came to be so I have a proposal".

Hayley looked at him as if he has lost his mind. She said starting to feel a bit annoyed "I told you you can see her whenever you want to".

Klaus said calmly telling himself that he was expecting that "I dont want to see her whenever I want to. I want her in my life. Hope needs her father. You know she does. A child needs her both parents. I want to provide for everything that I never did. If I had known that I had a daughter I…" He suddenly got up and angrily threw the across the room startling Hayley. He ran his fingers through his hair and said without turning towards her "I will never understand why he didnt tell me".

Hayley gulped the sudden tears that she didnt know had come to her throat and said "I dont know what you mean but Mr. Mikealsons what you want will never happen. I will never tell Hope that you are her father. If you try to take us to court I will make sure you dont get to see her. If you apply for joint custody then chances are that you will not get custody of her considering that you raped me even if you got away with it. But after that I will make sure you will never see her again".

Klaus took one step closer to her and said looking straight into her eyes "no, I will never take you and her to court. I think you and I should get married".


	11. Chapter 11 Backed into a corner

**_A/N: I am glad that I managed to surprise you all. I hope you like where the story will be going in future too. This chapter has gone pretty long with small events but I have gone in depth about those events hence the long time. Thank you for reading it and reviewing it. I am still writing the story. I have the ending in my mind and how to get there but if you want any drama which will happen no doubt lol do suggest. May be I can accommodate that in the story too :)_**

**_Synopsis: KLaus makes life altering decisions for their daughter. Hayley faces an unexpected hindrance in her path that forces her to make a decision with her life._**

* * *

><p>Hayley stared at him and asked "what?!"<p>

Klaus said smiling even though his heart was racing "I said I think you and I should get married".

Hayley laughed and said "for a second I thought you said you and I should get married".

Klaus looked at her amused by her reaction, for some reason his racing-heart started to get steady. Klaus said looking into her eyes "Yes, _that's what I said_."

He saw the smile vanish from her lips and a slow smile started to appear on his lips.

Hayley exclaimed in shock "are you out of your mind? You and I cannot get married. _You and your _family think that I was having an affair with your father".

Looking at his confused expression, she said angrily "yes I have made the connection. I know what you and everyone else thinks".

Klaus said "Hayley!"

but Hayley cut him off by saying "you and I will not get married. Even if by _some miracle_ I say yes, your mother will never accept me. She had an anxiety attack because of me".

Klaus wondered _'if he should play on the whole affair angle'_ and after some deliberation he said "Hayley the only way she can be sure that you didn't have an affair with my father is if you and I get married".

Hayley said sarcastically "what about Ms Forbes? Aren't you getting married to her in two months?!"

Klaus said calmly "I have thought about it. I have a responsibility towards Hope and… " he paused for a second and then added "and to you".

Hayley said coldly "you don't have any responsibility towards me!"

Klaus didn't say anything for a moment knowing well that he was expecting that type of reaction from her. He said "yes I do. Believe me If I had remembered who that girl was, I would have done something about it sooner. If we get married Hope will have a father in her life too".

Hayley shook her head and said "No I will not get married to you".

Klaus thought for a moment and then said "listen my mother wants to fire you. Until now Elijah had put his foot down but now with her health condition Elijah might not have an option. He had been thinking of transferring you to New Orleans's office."

He saw the shocked expression on her face and felt bad for her but continued "I live in New Orleans and you know my job. I cannot leave this job and …" he stopped for a second, thought about the new complications in his job and then continued "may be I will eventually have to… but any way if you and I will be same town I think we should … "

But before he could continue Hayley cut him off by saying "are you not listening to me? I will not get married to you".

Klaus said calmly "I will keep on asking until you say yes".

Hayley said now getting really agitated "you can continue on doing as you please but I will never say yes. This is not the solution to our situation. You are engaged and Ms Forbes love you and from what I have seen you love her too".

Klaus said in matter of fact way "well my marriage to Caroline will not happen regardless of we love each other so that is not a problem. You think about it with cool head".

Hayley said shortly "I don't need to stay calm to think about it. I already know the answer and it will be the same".

Klaus said with a sigh "I want Hope in my life. I cannot be just part of her life. I want her to be in my life permanently. I realize that we cannot disclose her true parentage without revealing what happened between us so the best solution is for us to get married. I will adopt her for appearance purpose. She will be my daughter for law and for everyone else. I will have Hope by my side and I will be able to give her all my love. Hayley, and no one will know the truth".

Hayley stared at him as if he has lost his mind and said "_no_. Are you out of your freaking mind? No no and no".

Klaus sighed and said "alright. I have already told you that I want to be in her life. Now tell me what will happen when she grows up and asks who I am because I will keep on seeing her".

Hayley said after a moment "I can say that you are a family friend".

Klaus smiled and said "yes you can but I dont want to be family friend to her. I want to be her father. I dont care if she thinks I am her step father but I want to be called dad by her not Klaus".

Hayley said "no Mr Mikaelson".

Klaus said "Then like I said i will keep on asking you until you say yes" and left the room ignoring her "Mr. Mikaelson".

Klaus laid in his bed staring at the ceiling not realizing that he had a smile on his lips. He felt at peace for the first time ever since he had found out that Hope was his daughter and Hayley was the girl he had raped. He suddenly realized that he should have broken up with Caroline first before proposing to Hayley but then he told himself _'what does it matter? Caroline and he were never going to work out considering they are two different species who are enemies of each other. Also he needed to show Hayley how important Hope is to him before she disappeared again from his life along with Hope and for that he was willing to do anything and this marriage will not be bad. It will provide her stability which she needed with her health condition and all and may be they will start to care about each other one day, forget about their past and she will forgive him and Hope will get a stable home'._

but he couldn't shake off this guilt feeling he was having about not dealing with Caroline before taking this plunge. He said to himself "he should make a short trip to Mystic Falls to officially break up with Caroline".

He closed his eyes and thinking about the prospective of future with Hope and Hayley he went to sleep.

While Klaus was feeling guilty of not breaking up with Caroline before proposing to Hayley, she was calling him names and cursing him for asking her to marry him. The last thing she thought of before going to sleep was '_he is crazy if he thinks that I will marry him'._

Next morning when she woke up she thought that everything that have happened was a bad dream, but she was wrong. When she sat up and saw the door wide open and hope not in her bed, Hayley groaned.

She walked out and saw her sitting on the counter top drinking milk and giggling while Klaus was laughing. he looked towards her and said to her "I hope you had a comfortable sleep and you thought about what I said with cool mind".

Hayley said "I want to go back today. The storm has already passed. Get me a flight or else I will do it myself." Hayley paused for a second and continued " I don't appreciate you paying off my loan. I will pay every penny you used to pay off my loan".

Klaus looked at her for a while without saying anything and then turned to Hope and said "so where were we?"

Hope said with a grin "then jerry pulled his wiker… this thing" she touched his upper lips.

Klaus laughed and said "whiskers?!"

Hope giggled and said "yes".

Hayley walked to her and took her off the counter angrily and said "_how many times have i told you not to leave the room without telling me". _

His protective instinct kicked in and he said "Hayley!"

Hayley looked at him and asked "can you get me my seat or should I do it myself?"

Klaus nodded and started towards his room but as he passed by her he whispered in her ear "don't take out your anger directed towards me on her" sending a chill through her body.

With heavy heart he got them seats in the afternoon. He took her to her hotel room where she collected her things while he chatted with Hope, watched cartoons with her as she snuggled closed to him and felt his heart sinking more and more as the time for them leaving was coming close. He kept glancing at her as she walked around the room picking up and packing their stuff. He wondered _'if she will even think about his proposal''._

Something told him that she will not but for that he was mentally prepared. At last he took them to the airport and checked them in.

When he came back from dropping them off at the airport he still could feel Hope's arms around his neck and could actually feel the warmth of her body and his heart was sinking faster then he had ever imagined. After tossing and turning for hours on his bed late at night he realized that he much he already was missing Hope's voice.

Next morning he got up, changed his clothes and went to the station. Alexis smiled at him as he settled down and asked "hey partner, back to your job?"

Klaus said smiling "yes. So tell me what have I missed".

Alexis said "well wedding is in May. I managed to get Southern Oak Plantation for the wedding. I couldn't very well let you get married before me right?"

Klaus laughed and said "yes you are right. Well I am happy for you".

He wondered _'when should he go to Mystic Falls to tell Caroline about his decision. How will his family react to this news? Will they accept his decision. he should at least Elijah'. _

He felt happy to be surrounding by his colleagues as he realized that helped him take his mind of Hope and Hayley.

Thursday morning when Hayley entered Elijah's office she saw his office was empty.

Janet walked to her and said "Mr Mikaelson had been under the weather since yesterday. May be he will come later today. How was New Orleans?"

Hayley couldn't help but think of the time she had spend with Klaus and his proposal and shook her head. She said with a smile "It was good. We won the case".

Janet said excitedly "yayy that is great. That means bonuses you know".

Hayley smiled and looked down and said "so what you have been doing?"

Janet said "just busy. I have been covering for you ever since you were in New Orleans".

Hayley nodded and then said "oh good. so tell me what happened?"

She looked up as she heard the shoe sounds and saw Elijah walking toward , she remembered that he too thought that she was having an affair with his father. That just made her very nervous.

Elijah smiled at her but he noticed that Hayley was looking very nervous.

He said "oh good. You are back. I had to leave for a business slash leisure trip today. I was hoping you would come back today, so I could hand over Jackson Smith file to you".

He motioned her to follow him in his office.

Hayley gulped and followed him in wondering_ 'how come he is not showing or shown any indication that he suspected his father for having an affair with her'. _

Elijah turned towards her and asked "so did you like New Orleans?"

Hayley looked at him remembering his desire to transfer her to the New Orleans' offices. She said with a sinking heart "I liked it. The office there is really good".

He said "hmm good". Then he handed her the file and said "I will be back in on next Friday. I am sure you can handle everything while I am gone".

Hayley looked at him in confusion thinking _'shouldnt he be telling her about transfer too'_ but then she thanked her luck as she thought _'may be Klaus was wrong'. _

She said with a smile "yes" and left his office.

Elijah walked out of his room after thirty minutes and said "good bye Hayley" and headed towards the elevator.

After Elijah left Hayley was left with her conflicting thoughts. She needed this job but she couldn't very well work with the man who thinks that she was having a affair with his father and has taken share in property. Thinking of that just made her super mad at Mikael and she wondered _'why would he do that? If she were in Ms Lockwood's position would have thought the same too'_.

She thought about Klaus's marriage proposal. She smirked to herself "how dare he proposed to her? Does he thinks that by marrying her he could make up for what he did to her that night?"

She answered herself "no that cannot be it. He cannot be so stupid to think that by marrying me he can make up for what he did. Does he think that I want this from him? Does he think that I feel any animosity towards him and he can make me forget about it by marrying him?"

Hayley wondered if she still hated him, but she realized that she didn't anymore. She wondered _'when exactly did she stopped hating him?' _and realized it was somewhere between these five years. - watching Hope grow up, becoming this most important existence in her life. She recalled how she had made an effort to not remain angry at him to keep Hope's existence independent of that rape because she had realized that the longer she stayed angry at him the more she was associating Hope with that rape. And now while sitting at her office chair lost in her thought it came as a shock to her that she had achieved that; she was not angry at him anymore. Even though she couldn't forget that incidence, she had learned to live with it in a healthy way. She thought in anger _'but that does not mean that she will marry him. Proposal! how dare he?!'_

She looked around in the office and felt calm realizing that she had worked in this room for the past three years and most of the people knew her but she was also realizing that with Klaus in her life, she couldn't work in this company anymore. She sighed as she decided it was best to change her job under this circumstances. She put looking for a job on the priority list and decided she will not tell Elijah this time. She looked towards Janet who walked to her and said "lunch".

Hayley nodded and switched off her computer and went with her to get lunch.

After she came back from lunch she was looking at the file Elijah had given her to read before leaving for his business trip, she startled when she sensed someone standing near her desk.

She jumped up as she saw Mrs. Lockwood standing there. She asked "Mrs Lockwood, good morning. How are you feeling?"

Esther said cruelly "you are fired Ms Marshall. You will not work in this office from tomorrow".

Hayley stared at her in shock and confusion and said "Mrs Lockwood!" and then it hit her why was she firing her. She said "I understand that you are angry but I assure you that…"

Esther started laughing and cut her off by saying "what?! you are going to say that you didnt have an affair with him. You cannot be that innocent to expect that iI will believe you. You took our money. You had an affair with my husband. I know you have wrapped Elijah and Niklaus around your finger just like you did to Mikael but you cannot fool me I can see right through you. They are both not here to protect you anymore. You should leave or else I will call security to escort you out".

Hayley stared at her and then looked around and saw people gazing at them. She gulped her tears and nodded. She slowly stood up and picked up her bag and then said "let me put his file on Mr Mikaelson desk".

She picked up the file and went to his room and placed the file on the table. She then looked around the office which was full of memories and then turned around and left the room and headed towards the elevator.

When she reached home Amy and Hope were not home. Upon Hayley calling her, she found out they were in the park. Hayley spend the rest of the day thinking about her options and realized that she had lost everything. She had lost her job, her insurance, she had no money in the bank except for Mikael's money that he left her and she was definitely not taking that one she told herself. She decided to check if that position in Apex technologies was still available but when she called Apex technology she was informed her that the job was already taken. She cursed herself for not taking the job. By night fall, her head was buzzing with conflicting thoughts and with no hope of future. She looked at Hope sleeping in her bed and wondered what would happen to them. She spend the night thinking about what to do. She was three weeks shy of her third chemo and by then she needed to get a job.

By the time sun came out her eyes were tired from the sleepless night. She wondered if she doesn't get the loan to pay for her treatment and she dies then what will happened to Hope? She suddenly thought of him and wondered if he was right. He can give Hope his name and if she dies Hope will still have a father to look after her.

Next morning when she woke up she stayed in her bed. It was half past nine when at last she got out of the bed and after washing her face she left her room. Hope was chattering with Amy in the kitchen. One look at her and she screamed with excitement.

Amy asked her in surprise "what are you doing home? I thought you would have gone to the office".

Hayley looked at her and said in a soft voice "Mrs Lockwood fired me".

Amy stood up from her chair and asked "what? why?"

Hayley didnt find any courage to tell her what happened so she said "I dont know. She owns the company. She can do whatever she wants to do".

Amy said "what are you going to do?"

Hayley said "I am going to look for a new job. I am sure I will get it. I have good experience. It is not like I dont have a degree. I am a legal secretary with experience. I'm sure I will get a job somewhere. I have experienced in being a personal secretary too so I am sure that will help me too" as she kissed Hope on her head.

She looked at Amy and said "Amy you will not tell Tyler".

Amy said with exasperation "Hayley he can get you a job somewhere. Lockwood name is widely known in Mystic Falls".

Hayley said "no. I will find a job this time on my own. Any way what do you want to do my love? Mommy is home today?" At the end of the sentence she looked at Hope and smiled at the grin she gave her.

She spend the next three days home with Hope trying to give her company and in the mean time looking for a job and managed to find one. She send them her CV and while waiting for the reply from them she decided to get a part time job somewhere so that she has something to rely on in the mean time. She applied as a sales associate in Macy's and with and luckily she got a reply on Tuesday six days of her being fired from her job. She felt somewhat relaxed at the prospect of getting pay even though she was supposed to start the very next day and her hours were really long but she knew in her heart that this was not what she was going to settle for.

Later that night when she settled down in her bed she checked her emails and saw an email from the computer company she had applied the job for. She literally jumped out of bed as she saw that they wanted to have an interview with her on next Tuesday. When at last she went to sleep she was feeling very light and excited and oddly enough looking forward to the busy day ahead of her in Macy's.

Klaus laid on the bed late at night thinking about his days and thanked his luck that he was busy otherwise he would go crazy thinking about Hope. He felt like hearing her voice so he picked up his cell and called her number but then put it down in frustration when it went straight to the voicemail. He deliberately started thinking of Caroline and decided to make a trip to Mystic Falls on Friday and return on Saturday. He reserved his seats for Friday noon after his work and at last he managed to go to sleep after being restless for a long time thinking about how would he approach Hayley during his short trip there and what would he say to Caroline.

Hayley and Hope were on his mind the next day so after he left his station to go to home he took out his cell and dialed Marcel's number. He said as the call connected "I want to meet you".

Marcel said "where?"

Klaus said "somewhere where no one can find out about me or you".

Marcel said "meet me at the Marlin Cemetery around 3".

Thirty minutes later Klaus was waiting for Marcel sitting on the tomb thinking about Hayley when he saw him walking towards him.

Marcel said "so what is new? How are you adjusting to your new werewolf life?"

Klaus said "going without any incidence. Haven't killed anyone yet!"

Marcel said "well it is only a matter of time. It is not as if you are inexperience in that. You killed someone".

Klaus looked at him ignoring Marcel's last comment he said "I have a problem I need to ask you a favor".

When Marcel looked at him questioningly, Klaus said "I need your blood".

Marcel stared at him in surprise and then asked "is someone hurt?"

Klaus said "No, no really. The person I'm talking about has cancer"

Marcel sighed and said "my blood can cure many things but no life threatening diseases".

Klaus said "what do you mean?"

Marcel said "I myself might not get those diseases but I cannot cure someone of the natural diseases. I can only cure the wounds and not the diseases".

Klaus sighed in frustration and said "okay thanks"

He turned to leave but stopped and asked "is it possible for a werewolf to not pass his or her gene to his child".

Marcel laughed and said "thinking of getting married. well good for you but for your answer I have not seen any case but sure why not. But not if both parents have the gene".

Klaus heart sank as Hope's image flashed through his mind and he said "thanks" and started to leave again.

Marcel called him "hey next Thursday is full moon. Don't kill anyone!"

Klaus smiled and waved at him.

Friday morning when Elijah entered his office and saw that her chair was empty. He wondered _'where was she? She has never been late'._

He went into his office and saw the file he had given her on his desk. He smiled and picked it up and the opened it. He looked at her in confusion as he saw there was no addendum done on it. He looked towards his chair and felt weird and then he shook his head and settled down. He picked up the phone and called Janet and said "Janet, can you come to my office please".

Two minutes later Janet entered his office with her notepad and settled down opposite him. He said with a smile "Ms Marshall is not here yet. So until she comes back you have to fill in for her again".

There was something on her face that made Elijah curious and he asked her "what is it?"

Janet said "Mrs Lockwood came the day you left for your business trip and she fired Ms Marshall".

Elijah stared at her and then slowly stood up and said "what?!"

Janet said regretfully "I am sorry Mr Mikaelson".

She was quiet for a second looking at Elijah's shocked expression and then she recalled what Esther had said about Hayley wrapping elijah and Klaus around her fingers and said "Is there anything I can do?"

Elijah startled out of his thought sand said "no. thank you".

Janet got up and left.

Elijah thought for a moment and called Klaus but the call went on voice mail.

He then dialed Hayley's number but it seemed it had been disconnected.

Elijah sat there on his chair thinking about what to do and then he remembered he had the meeting with some client. He tried to put his head into the job but it was impossible.

Klaus kissed Caroline on her cheek as she walked into Doulches and settled down on his chair. After they ordered their food Klaus looked at Caroline, gathered his courage and said "Caroline I have been thinking a lot about us and I don't think it will work. We two are entirely different people and I think with this new discovery between us, it will not work. I love you but I cannot get married to you".  
>Caroline looked at him in shock and aid "Klaus, the wedding cards have already been distributed".<p>

Klaus said regretfully "I know but I told you that we had issues, that I needed to think. I have thought about it and I dont think there is any solution to it and I think I cannot marry you. Vampire and werewolves are different species. You are immortal. I am mortal. I will age and die one day. You will remain young and live forever so yes I think we should cut our loses and just be friends".

For the next hour, she tried to persuade him but the more she gave logic to him the more his mind became firm on his decision. At last Caroline got up and stormed out of the restaurant in tears and anger. Klaus looked at her with regret knowing well that he had broken her heart and even though he felt his heart broken too but he knew in his heart that besides the reason he had given her, he was doing it for Hope, his daughter. He told himself that his priorities have changed. He needed to think about Hope's future. He left a hundred dollar bill on his table with the untouched food and left. He dialed Elijah's number from the car bluetooth and said "I am in Mystic Falls. Want to have dinner? I want to talk to you about something really important".

He changed lane when he heard Elijah's rather annoyed voice "where have you been? I have been trying to call you since morning".

Klaus looked at the gps screen in confusion and asked "what is it? Is mother okay?"

The car swung as he heard him say "mother is fine but she has fired Hayley. She fired her on Tuesday - the day I went for my trip".

Klaus said fixing his grasp on the car steering wheel again "what?!"

Elijah said with annoyance "yes and I have been trying to contact her since this morning but her phone is disconnected. I was thinking may be she changed her phone number or something. You can find out from your connections. I was thinking of visiting her apartment right now".

Klaus realized that the pit in his stomach was getting bigger. He said "no. let me do that. I am near that place already".

After leaving the restaurant Caroline drove aimless for half an hour thinking about her breakup with Klaus. The more she thought about it, the more angry and depressed she got with the situation and herself and cursed her vampirism. She thought of distracting her mind by doing some shopping. As she entered the shoe department of Macy's she saw looked at her in shock and then walked to her and said "fancy seeing you here. Ms Marshall".

Hayley looked at her in surprise and her heart skipped a beat at seeing her but she fixed a smile on her face and said "Ms Forbes. How are you?"

Caroline said in a depressed voice"not so good. When did you come back? Esther told me that she fired you. I am sorry about your job but she is the boss you know how rich people can be"

Hayley said "on Wednesday. It is okay. I have gotten this job".

Caroline looked at her desperately and before she could stop herself the words where out and she said "Klaus broke up with me".

Hayley looked at her in shock and said "what?!"

Caroline said "yes he said that…." She stared at her for a second and then said "you were with him in New Orleans for that case right. Do you have anything to do with it?"

For some reason her cheek started to burn as she remembered the proposal.

Caroline stared at her for a second and seeing her cheek getting red she added two and tow and before she could stop herself, her hand swung in the air and landed on Hayley's face.

She said with contempt "you tramp. I thought you would be okay".

Hayley notice a couple of people glancing at them. Controlling her anger and confusion she said "Manners Ms Forbes and what are you talking about?"

Caroline shouted now attracting everyone's attention in the vicinity "he called the wedding off. Everything happened _after you went to New Orleans with him_. What happened there? Did you manage to wound him on your fingers too just like you did to his father".

Hayley said angrily "Ms Forbes, Mr Mikealson has asked me to marry him but I have not said yes. Please refrain from misbehaving with me. Now if you will leave. I have work to do".

Caroline said with contempt "he proposed you?! Are you crazy?! He would never propose a girl like you while being engaged to _me_. He loves me. He still loves me and I love him too".

She turned and left without waiting for a response from her.

Klaus climbed the stairs of her apartment building two at a time and knocked at her apartment. He waited for a few minutes and then the door opened. He asked Amy "I want to talk to Hay.. Ms Marshall. Where is she?"

Amy looked at him with annoyance and said "what are you doing here? your mother fired her and I know Hayley was a good worker so why did she fire her?"

Klaus asked again now getting desperate "where is she?"

Amy said after a short pause "she is at her new job".

Klaus said "where?"

Amy said "She is a sales associate at Macy's near Bear creek. In shoe department".

Klaus turned to leave but stopped and asked "where is Hope?"

Amy said "Mr Mikaelson what do you want from her? If you cannot make her life easy then don't make it more difficult. She has been through enough".

Klaus nodded and said "believe me I don't have any intention of making her life difficult. Thanks by the way".

He went down to his car and drove towards Macy's feeling anxious and hesitant at the same time.

When he reached the main door, he tried to open it but it was close and he realized that the store had closed for the night. He stood there wondering '_what to do? Should he go back to her apartment or wait till morning. He has to leave by tomorrow afternoon. What should he do?'_

He decided to wait till the morning.

Next morning Hayley got up feeling a bit dizzy after the tired shift previous night. She threw up a little bit and then started getting ready to leave for her shift in Macy's. She stood in front of mirror with Hope standing near her and Amy standing at the door. She brushed her hair, thew loose strands of hair into the dust bin with frustration and said to Amy "I have an interview on Tuesday in a software company. If I get the job that will be great".

Amy said "Klaus Mikaelson came here yesterday".

Hayley's hand got suspended in the air and then she resumed applying the blush on and asked "what did you tell him?"

Amy said "he looked worried and was asking about you so I told him where you work".

Hayley looked at her an said "that is okay".

She then bend to kiss Hope and said "mommy will be late honey. I am sorry. I know it is Saturday but mommy's new job wants mommy to work on Saturdays. We will go to the park some other day".

She gave her a hug and went to the kitchen and poured coffee for her and left the apartment. As she reached the bottom stairs she stopped as she saw him leaning against his car.

Klaus walked to her and said "I want to talk to you about where we left of".

Hayley asid "I am getting late for my job and I have already given you my answer".

Klaus said "I am sorry that my mother fired you . Elijah and I have decided to transfer you to New Orleans office".

Hayley said while walking towards her car "no. I dont want to work for your firm".

Klaus said "You will not be working for me. You will be working for Elijah"

Hayley looked at him and said annoyingly "dont be over smart with me Mr Mikaelson".

Klaus said "I am not. Right now I am a detective so as long as I am doing that job Elijah is the acting owner of both firms".

Hayley opened her car door and sat in the driver's seat and started the car but groaned as her car refused to start. She hit her hand over the steering wheel when Klaus said "let me drop you".

Hayley got out of he car and said "no I can manage that. The bus system is really great in Mystic Falls".

Klaus smiled and said "I know I grew up here but come I will drop you. You dont want to be late for your work. After all this is your new job".

Hayley couldn't help but feel the tease in his sentence. She felt annoyed but she realized that she was getting late so she nodded and walked to his car with him.

After she settled down Klaus said "Hayley think about it. Marrying me will solve your many problems".

Hayley looked at him and asked "what problem? you have already paid my debt which I will pay you off but I dont have any problems. I didnt have any problems before you came in my life and now look what you have done".

Klaus looked at her and wondered _'should he remind her about her cancer'_ but he said "that is what I am saying. If I had not raped you, you wouldn't have had Hope and …"

Hayley snapped at him "I don't see Hope as problem. She is the best thing that has happened to me and I dont want to associate that rape with her so please don't ever see her as problem".

Klaus looked at her and said "I am sorry I didnt mean that but will you reconsider my offer".

Hayley laughed and said "you are persistent but no I will not marry you. Please drop me here. thanks".

She was getting out of the car when he said "I want to see her".

Hayley said "I will be off at 7 pm. You can come see her after that".  
>Klaus said "I have to leave in the afternoon at around 5. Can't we do it earlier".<p>

Hayley looked at him and then said sarcastically "sure. Let me go and quit my job or ask your mother to get me fired from here too so that you can meet Hope".

She turned and left but not before she saw a smile on his lips that left her annoyed with herself.

Around noon he went to see Stefan and stopped as he saw Caroline there. Caroline looked at him and said to Stefan "I will be going".

Klaus said as he stopped Caroline "Caroline, dont be like that. I told you why we cannot get married. It is not personal. We can be friends".

Caroline said "that is not a valid reason. I know that tramp has won your heart".

Klaus looked at her in confusion and asked "who?"

Caroline said "Hayley Marshall who else. She had an affair with your father and now she is responsible for you breaking our engagement."

Klaus stared at her in shock and then said "no Caroline. Hayley has nothing to do with it".

Caroline said with a smirk "so you are on the first name basis. Wonderful!"

Stefan said to Caroline "why dont you sit down and you can discuss this calmly".

Klaus laughed and said "Stefan there is nothing to discuss. I am werewolf she is a vampire. It will never work out between us".

Caroline said "we can make it work. We love each other".

Klaus said "yes we do but we cannot get married to each other".

Caroline said with contempt "you have your eyes set on that tramp right?"

Klaus said "what?"

Caroline said angrily "I know you proposed to her Nik".

At his confused look she said "she told me".

Klaus asked "where did you meet her?"

Caroline said "at Macys but why would you Nik. She is just a secretary. You said yourself that you didnt like her. Were you cheating on me during our engagement?"

Klaus suddenly lost his temper and said "stop it. I have not cheated on you. Yes I have proposed to her but she has not accepted it yet. I was already having doubts about our marriage considering our natures. My only mistake was proposed to her _before _I broke up with you which was going to happen in any case and deep down you knew it".

He looked at Stefan who was looking at him with that amused smile on his face and said "I am leaving in a few hours so I thought of meeting you. May be you can tell her that vampires and werewolves are not a good match".

He turned and left both of them.

He called Hayley again but she was not attending the phone so he left for New Orleans later that evening with Hayley and Hope in his mind.

For the next two days he called her many time but was not lucky enough to get hold of her. He was frustrated for no being able to be close to his daughter.

Hayley felt guilty for not attending his calls but she hardened her heart and continued to ignore them. She was really getting tired with the physical effort she had to put on with her new job. With the result that she was starting to feel sick a lot then usual. She was losing weight and vomiting a lot but she had no option other then work in Macy's until her interview in the computer company.

Tuesday afternoon Hayley entered the apartment really happy. Amy asked her "so how was it?"

Hayley said "great. I got the job. I will start tomorrow".

Hayley hugged Hope and smiled and said "lets go out to celebrate".

Amy asked "what are you going to do about Macy's".

Hayley said "I had already told them about this interview so they knew that i would be leaving them if I get this job. I came her after talking to them".

Amy got up and said "that is great. I am going to meet Tyler. Why dont you and Hope go and spend some quality time together".

Hayley smiled and said "sure. Thanks."

She felt really light and happy after many days as she entered the ice cream shop thirty minutes later.

For the next two days Hayley was really busy with her new job. They were asking of long hours which she didnt mind because Amy was a great help with Hope. They were paying her good money and the health benefits were good. Her boss James Dean was really nice and kind and she was loving the environment in the office.

Hayley was getting late for her office on the third day as Hope had kept her awake throughout the night with runny nose and high fever. She hastily put her shoes on, tied her hair in a knot behind her head and said "Amy, I have to go. Please can you keep an eye on hope, she was sick last night" she said practically running out the apartment.

When she entered her office she groaned as she saw her boss already in the office. She hastily put her bag on the seat and went to the kitchen to get him coffee.

As she entered his room with his coffee, he said "Ms Marshall you are late".

Hayley said apologetically "I am sorry Mr Dean. It will not happen again".

He said after a few moments "Ms Marshall I am sorry but i have to let you go. Mrs Lockwood here tells me that you have embezzled from the company".

Hayley looked around and spotted Esther sitting on the sofa with a smirk on her face. She turned back to James Dean and said "what? no. She is lying".

James said "I am sorry. I cannot have you in my company".

Hayley stared at him in shock and then nodded and left.

She picked up her bag with heavy heart and headed towards the elevator.

She thought for a moment and then she stopped there waiting for Esther. After a short while she saw her walking towards the front door. She asked her "why did you do that? You know I never embezzled from your company".

Esther smirked and said with contempt "you think you will destroy my family and I will not do any thing. Niklaus broke his engagement because of you and my husband gave my property for you".

Hayley said angrily "I don't want your property and I surely don't want to marry your son".

Esther said "yes. I will make sure of that. You are not fit for my son. you are nothing but a tramp and nothing else. My son has lost his mind but dont worry he will never marry you. He is just being illogical. Caroline will be my daughter in law. Your dream will always remain dream. I will die before I let you in his life or give you share from my property".

Hayley said desperately "Mrs. Lockwood you are being unnecessary hostile towards me. I assure you that I did not have affair with Mikael".

Esther said in the same tone "I dont care anymore. I just want to tell you that you will not be able to get a decent job in any big company in this city. My family's name and influence is enough to make sure that you dont get a proper job in any good firm or company".

She turned and left the office.

Hayley stood there for a moment steaming in anger and frustration. After a while she realized the center of her anger and frustration was Klaus. She cursed him for starting all of this. If he had not called off his wedding then this wouldn't have happen. She left the building feeling thoroughly depressed.

She spend the evening going through the advertisement but couldn't find anything that fit her requirements. She sighed and went to sleep with severe depression.

Next morning after telling Amy what had happened she sat on the kitchen table and started looking for jobs again in the morning paper but all search was in vein. During the next tow hours she tormented herself with thoughts about no prospects of job, Esther words burning hole in her mind and Hope's future without her in this world. She started to get agitated and feel insulted as Esther's words ran through her mind and her anger at Klaus rose to no bounds. She felt really angry at him for putting her in this position. She wished she could make Esther and Caroline eat their words. As the thought crossed her mind she straightened in her chair and started wondering if she got married to Klaus what would their reaction be especially Esther's.

At that thought she laughed and shook her head and said to herself "no. what are you thinking? You cannot get married to Klaus just because you want to show Esther".

She wondered "why not?"

She thought _'if she gets married to him he can give Hope his name and she can also show Esther'_.

She reminded herself that she had chemo coming up in one week and she needed some financial stability.

She said to herself "I am not taking money from him under any circumstances".

After some moments she wondered _'what if she accepts his offer to be transferred to new Orleans's office". _

Common scene told her that was the best solution under this situation.

But then she realized that Klaus would never be out of her life if she lives in New Orleans. Right now they are in different states so he is forced to stay away from them but if she is in New Orleans then he wouldn't stay away from Hope. At the same time she realized that if she moves to New Orleans then she needs Klaus because of her health condition. She will need someone to take care of Hope while she is having her chemo and radiation until she finds some one trustworthy. She wondered '_would he agree to joint custody'_ but as soon as the thought came to her mind she knew that he wouldn't. He proposed to her because he wants Hope to call him father and if they have joint custody and Hope calls him father then someone will start asking questions. She got up with frustration and started pacing the small kitchen. She looked up as Hope walked in rubbing her eyes.

Hope looked at her and beamed with happiness and ran to her and hugged her legs.

Her heart suddenly felt very heavy as the thought crossed her mind _'what will happen to her if cancer comes back?' _

She bend down and picked her up and kissed her and wondered_ 'for her should she take this plunge. Will Esther or his family accept Hope and her in their life?'_

But she already knew the answer. Then she hugged Hope tightly as she asked her "mommy, I love you".

She willed her tears to stop falling from her eyes and said to herself "I should only think of Hope. To hell with Klaus, Esther, Caroline. If she thinks that she can stop Klaus from getting married to me then she can try all she can. I should just think about my daughter's secure and stable future and for that if she has to marry Klaus, she is willing to do that".

She sat on the chair, took a deep breath and picked up her cell and dialed his number and waiting anxiously for him to pick up his cell. As the call connected she said "yes".

Klaus looked at the paper in his hand in, frowned and said in confusion "what? who is this?"

He sat up in his chair and asked "Hayley?!"

Hayley said "yes. I said yes. I will marry you". She looked at Amy who had just entered the room.

Amy felt as if she didn't hear it so she just stared at her.

Hayley continued "hello?!"

Klaus said "yes, I am here. Good to hear but can I ask what made you change your mind?"

Hayley said "that shouldn't be your concern. I said yes, didn't I?"

Klaus said "alright. Okay I will get your a seat booked for tonight and then we can do this as soon as you come here".

Hayley stared at Hope's picture on the wall and said "okay".

Klaus said "I will call you with flight information in a few hours and Hayley".

She asked with sinking heart "what?"

Klaus said "thanks" and put the cell down. He didn't know that he was smiling when Alexis asked him "what is it?"

Klaus said "nothing".

and opened the website to get the seat for her and Hope.

Hayley looked at Amy and said "M… Klaus asked me to marry him in New Orleans. I asked him to give me some time to think. I have thought about it and have decided to accept his proposal".

Amy said "Hayley are you sure? Do you love him?"

Hayley thought for a moment and then said "yes, I think I do. I like him a lot. I don't know when I fell for him" praying that Amy does not see through her lie.

She got up and held Hope's hand and went to her room and with sinking heart she started collecting her things knowing well that he will get a seat for her tonight or may be earlier. She kept glancing at Hope while packing and seeing her innocent face made her feel better about her decision.

An hour later she got a call from him telling her that he has gotten a seat for her and Hope for the next morning.


	12. Chapter 12 Tying the knot

**_A/N: Thank you for the comments. I am sorry I am uploading very slowly this time. My family is visiting and I am unable to write it down. But I have a little long story in mind for this particular fan fiction so hang on tight and enjoy. _**

**_Synopsis: Hayley and Klaus tie the knot for their daughter sake and start their lives but realize soon that they have many hurdles to come over before they find room of each other in their hearts. _**

* * *

><p>The next twenty for hours were a blur to Hayley. She had to pack their things and get to the airport; then he picked them up and took them to his apartment, so they could leave their bags there and freshen up before take them to the marriage registrar office in the afternoon. Hayley was exhausted and the worse was whenever he was close near her<p>

During the ceremony, especially when she was about to sign the marriage certificate, her apprehension and nervousness were at peaks.

She stole a glance at him but he was busy reading the document the magistrate had handed him over and wondered _'how come he was so relaxed? He has just broken up with the love of his life to get married to her so he must be feeling something'_. Her heart sank as she realized that she will never have a perfect marriage all girls dream of having but then she hardened her heart by saying to herself 'that was never for her. Right now she just wants some stability for Hope which only her father can provide'.

She startled from her thoughts as the judge said "by the power vested in me I pronounce you husband and wife" while at the same time Hope put her hand on her knee. She smiled and kissed her.

On the way to home, Klaus said without looking at her "I will file for Hope adoption as soon as I can".

When she didn't say anything he looked at her staring out of window and said "I know you didn't want this but I promise things will get better".

Hayley stared out of the window and suddenly it hit her that he does not know about her cancer. She turned to him and said "I need to tell you something".

Klaus asked "what is it?"

Hayley said in hesitant style "I have…" but stopped.

Klaus chanced her a glance and from the frown on her face he realized what she was going to tell him but he decided to play along reminding himself that she does not know that her secret is not a secret anymore. He asked "you have what?"

Hayley said "I have no idea how will we explain this".

Klaus knew at once that she was not going to say that. He said "leave that to me. When I tell them that I fell madly in love with you, they will understand".

Hayley looked at him in shock and said "that is a lie".

Klaus smiled and said "yes … " and then added "for right now but this is the perfect reason for us to get married".

Hayley stared at him and wondered 'right now? Is he expecting them to fall in love with each other? No way she will never fall in love with someone who raped her' but then it started to sunk in that she had married the man who had raped her and her heart started to sink. She deliberately thought of the reasons why she married him and started to calm down somewhat.

As he stopped his car outside a building she asked him "where are we?"

Klaus said "at my station. I need to get the safety box to put my…" he looked towards the back seat and saw that Hope had gone to sleep so he continued "gun in. With Hope in the house I cannot leave it my drawer unlocked".

Hayley said "Is it necessary to have a gun in the apartment? and is it safe to have gun in that house even if it is in the lock and key".

KLaus said "Yes, I must have my gun with me at all time. I don't stop being a detective just because I'm in my house. And i do believe it will be safe in the locked box. Wait I will be back in a minute".

He got out of the car and went inside whereas Hayley looked at him thinking _'how come he is so calm after what they had done?'_

She was lost in her thoughts thinking about the consequences of her actions and and telling herself repeatedly to calm down not knowing that klaus was doing the exact same thing at that precise moment. She startled out of her thoughts when the door opened and he was back with a metal black box. He put the box under the seat of the car and put the car on the road again. The rest of the drive was a quiet one.

After they reached his apartment building, he carried Hope in his arms and led her to their apartment again. He unlocked the door and took her to the bedroom where they stayed when they got stranded due to/because of the storm. He laid her on the bed, turned to her and said "this will be Hope's room. You can set it as you want. Ours is the other one".

Hayley said with racing heart "uhm Mr Mikaelson, I was thinking may be I should be sharing room with Hope until she settles down".

Klaus looked the reluctance on her face and knew fully well why she said that. There was something on his face that just made Hayley feel guilty and she started to blush but then he said "First of all it is Klaus and secondly okay. But Hayley you have to move in with me at some time in near future to make this marriage work. The more time we spend apart, the more time it will take us to accept our relationship and break the wall that is between us. We cannot live like two roommates all our lives. I will give you space and time. I promise that I will not cross the line with you until you want me to but you have to make an effort to work on our relationship too. Right now you can set your things in this room and the second bathroom down the hall but think about what I just said".

Hayley stared at him lost for words thanking her luck that he was not making an issue about this. Klaus said to her "I have to tell Elijah".

Hayley asked him "when will we tell Hope about our marriage?"

Klaus looked at sleeping Hope and said "she is sleeping. May be in the morning or when she wakes up. Right now I am going to tell Elijah. Do you want to tell Hope or should we do it together?"

Hayley thought for a moment and then said "may be together".

He nodded and walked out. He dialed Elijah's number.

As the call connected he said "hey busy?"

Elijah said "no, not really. I was just out for dinner. How are things at your end?"

Klaus looked up as he sensed her and said "I have a news for you".

Elijah said with annoyance "what now? You already dropped a bomb by calling off this wedding. Why did you do that? At least tell me that".

Klaus looked at Hayley and saw her biting her lips and said "I married somebody else".

There was a silence on the other end and then he heard Elijah say "what?!"

Klaus said "yes".

Elijah asked "who is she?"

Klaus said "Hayley".

He could literally see Elijah's mind working to place her. He heard him say "Hayley! Hayley Marshall?!" The shock in his voice just made him smile.

Klaus said keeping eye contact with her and with a smile "yes. You were right about her. I will tell you the detail when you come visit us. I knew mother would raise an issue especially after what happened between them. That is why I opted for marriage in court. We got married today, a few hours after I picked her and Hope in the airport".

Hayley turned and went back in Hope's room.

Elijah asked "Niklaus what is going on? You loved Caroline and she loves you too. What happened?"

Klaus said "we were having problems for the past few months Elijah."

Elijah asked "your problems with Caroline? How come I didnt know that? What problems?"

Klaus said "It is not her Elijah. During the time I spend in Mystic Falls I realized that I have change. I love Caroline but I cannot spend my life with her. We dont see life the same way as we used to. The more time I spend with her the more I became convinced that we will not be happy together and then I met Hayley. I think I have been looking for a girl for a while now. The girl next door and Hayley is like that girl. The more I got to know her the more I got impressed by her and here we are".

When Elijah didnt say anything he said with a smile "Any way you need to visit me… us I mean before I visit Mystic Falls. I will give you the honor of breaking the news to mother but if you dont want to I can do that when I come visit her next month".

Elijah said "let me do that. Her heart is not strong".

Klaus said "okay good".

Elijah said "oh my god. This is so weird. I surely will be visiting over the weekend. Just need to wrap up this case".

Klaus said "sure".

She was sitting on the bed with Hope still sleeping when she heard him say from the door way "Elijah will be visiting on Saturday. I don't want him to see our living situation. So you have over a week to adjust to this new change in our lives. I am not forcing you but I think the sooner we put all our cards on the table, the better it will be for our relationship and for Hope". At the end of the sentence he looked at Hope.

Hayley followed his gaze and reminded herself the reason for which she had married him and tried to calm her nerves.

Klaus noticed her getting nervous with his presence so he turned around to leave but then stopped and said "after you have settled down a bit, can you come out in the living room. I need to talk to you about something"

As his back disappeared Hayley thought 'why should she go talk to him or listen to anything he had to say' but then chided herself by saying to herself "dont be childish. You guys are married and stop thinking about what happened between you two if you really want to move forwards with your life for Hope's sake"

She opened her bag, took out her things and started putting them in closet all the time wondering what does he want to talk about. She even started to do some rehearsal conversation in her mind to prepare herself. There were very few things so she was done in an hour. She took a deep breath, prepared herself for the conversation with him and went to the living room.

Klaus was lying down on the sofa reading a book when he sensed her. He sat up, smiled at her and gestured her to have a seat. As she sat down he said "there is a safety box behind my clothes in the walking closet in my room. It is fixed in the wall. I will give you the code. I have put the gun in that box. Just keep Hope out of that area not that she can open it".

When she nodded, he got up feeling flustered and knelt down in front of her making her jump up. Klaus looked up at her and exclaimed "what?"

Hayley asked in surprise "what are you doing?"

Klaus stood up and even though his heart was beating really fast from the nervousness he said in a calm voice "I should have proposed you in a more traditional way but under the circumstances I was not sure how to do that but now that we are married I think it is necessary. I know the circumstances of our marriage are far from ideal but I will only marry once. At least that is the plan as of now". He smiled at the dumb look on her face and for some reason she felt butterflies in her stomach. He then continued "And every married couple has to have rings. So I bought this ring for you when you said yes".

Hayley stared at the beautiful ring with three big diamond stones and then at him and said "I cannot take this from you. This is too expensive".

Klaus said "yes it is but I can afford it and I want you to have it. You are my wife and you deserve this".

Hayley looked at him and said "Mr… Klaus if you think that you can buy my feelings from your …" she stopped talking as she saw his eyes hardening.

He said angrily but in low volume "you don't want to wear it dont but dont doubt my intentions for marrying you. I married you solely because of Hope but if in the process we get to find peace and start to care for each other then that will be bonus. I always imagined that I will love my life partner and she me so I am hoping that someday we will start to care about each other like any normal happy couple does and forget about that horrific past of ours. I imagine you want happy life too because we both need to work together to get that happy future".

He put the ring back in a small red velvet box and put it on the table with another red box and left the living room. After a few seconds Hayley heard the door close and knew that he had gone to his room. She stood there feeling miserable at what she had said to him. She looked at the ring boxes and wondered _'why are there two?'_

After few curious moment, the curiosity won and she opened the other one and smiled as she saw a masculine wedding band in it. She looked towards the door where he had disappeared into and then with regret picked up both the boxes and went to her room too.

Both of them managed to get some sleep without having dinner after hours of brain storming about their future. By the time he woke up, she had already given Hope breakfast, changed her and was having coffee.

She was sitting on the sofa watching TV with Hope when he entered the living room. Klaus ruffled her hair gently and asked her "what are you watching?"

Hope looked at him and said with a a grin "Tom and Jerry".

Klaus said smilingly "you really love those don't you".

Hope said "uhun" not taking her eyes from the screen.

Klaus laughed and went to the kitchen without looking at Hayley.

Hayley thought for a moment and then followed him in the kitchen and said "I am sorry about last night".

Klaus said "it is okay. If there was anyone else in your spot, she would have thought…" he stopped speaking as his gaze went to her left hand. He smiled and continued saying "she would have thought the same". He paused for a second and then said "thanks".

She smiled and gave him his ring and said after a moment of hesitation "Klaus it will take me some time to warm up to you. Please don't take it the wrong way. Believe me I don't hate you. In fact I don't know how I feel about you. But every time I see you I cannot forget that ….".

She couldn't finish the sentence so she stopped making Klaus's stomach drop several inches. He said softly "I know. You think you are alone in that? I cannot stop thinking about the brutality with which I…."

Hayley raised her hand and said "no please. Can we not discuss that please?"

Klaus said "sure".

After a short pause she said to him "I was thinking of talking to Hope. She asked me today what we were doing here. Do you want to come?"

Klaus said while pouring coffee in the cup "yes".

They walked to the living room with her and the sat on her either side and looked at the screen. Klaus said "let this one end and then we can talk to her".

Hope snuggled against Hayley while Klaus relaxed on the sofa, looking at the cartoon and sipping his coffee wondering with contentment _'how soon his dream of spending time with his daughter was coming true!' _and it hit him that he had never imagined he would be able to watch cartoon with his daughter so soon after asking Hayley to marry him.

After about five minutes Hayley said to Hope "hey it is time to switch the Tv off. We want to talk to you about something".

Hope looked at Hayley and Klaus was very impressed when she didnt even peek a word as Hayley switched off the TV.

Klaus turned to her as Hope settled down in Hayley's lap and asked "so Hope are you liking your new home?"

Hope looked at Hayley and said shyly "yes".

Hayley kissed her hair making Klaus itch to take her in his own lap. She said "Hope I want to tell you something".

Hope looked up at her face and said "what mommy?"

She nestled close to her as Hayley held her tiny hand and said "you know Mr…Klaus right?"

Klaus felt his heart skip a beat as she nodded her head vigorously and smiled at him.

She brushed her hair back from her forehead with her hand and said "a few days ago he asked me to marry him and I said yes. Today we got married honey".

He smiled as Hope looked towards his mom and then at Klaus and asked "what is marry?"

Hayley looked at Klaus and said "well that means that two people promise to love each other and care about each other. They get to live together like he and I are going to be living together in this house with you…." she paused for a second and continued "and you get to call him daddy".

Klaus who was looking at Hope's confused face with racing heart thinking_ 'will she accept him as her father or not'_ looked at her when he heard the words "daddy".

Hayley smiled at him and nodded him to take over but the next words coming out of Hope's mouth just broke his heart.

Hope looked towards him and asked "what is daddy?"

Hayley gulped her tears and said keeping her voice stable "well just like I am your mommy because you came out of mommy's tummy and mommy loves you and takes care of you, daddy is a man who takes care of you too, protects you. Give you everything that you want. Take care of you".

When Hope didn't say anything and continued to stare at him he smiled and said "so what do you say Hope? Do you like it?"

Hope smiled at him. She looked from Hayley to him and then nodded her head slowly.

He patted his hand on his thigh and gestured her to come to her.

Hope hesitated just for a second but then Klaus noticed Hayley giving her a slight nudge and his heart warmed up for her. She got up and crawled to his lap. He said "do you want to call me daddy Hope?" hoping she would say "yes".

Within moments his heart felt lightest when she nodded her heard after a slight hesitation.

Klaus smiled and said "and you know what? Mommy will get to call me Klaus now".

Hope said "but she calls you Mr Mikaelson".

Klaus laughed whereas Hayley smiled too feeling very self conscious and nervous . He said "well yes but that was when I was her boss. But now I am her husband. Do you know what a husband is?

When she shook her head snuggling close to him he said "well when a man gets married to a woman, man is called husband and the woman is the wife in that relationship".

Hope asked "what is retionship?"

Klaus thought for a moment and then said keeping his chin on top of her head and holding her hand unconsciously "_relationship_ is how two people are related".

Hope asked "what is related?"

Klaus looked at Hayley and caught her looking at him.

He asked now feeling helpless "do you want to take this one?"

Hayley's heart was fluttering at the way he was talking to Hope; the way she was snuggled in his lap, the way he had his chin rested on her head and her hand in his hand and she couldn't help but smile when he asked her help to answer that particular question.

She said "related means connected. You know how you connect your blocks with each other. Just like that people, animals, things connect to each other too. That is called related. Like you and mommy are connected by parent relationship. You are my daughter and I am your mommy. Now Mr… " when Hope chipped in "Klaus mommy".

Hayley felt nervous and said after a little hesitation "Klaus is your daddy and my husband".

She noticed his eyes on her face but refused to look at him when Klaus said "and your mommy is my wife. That is called related and you know what? We are all a family. A new family who will love each other and be happy with each other".

At those words she looked up and caught him looking at her.

Klaus asked keeping his eyes locked on Hayley's face "are you happy Hope?"

He felt her head move up and down and smiled as Hayley broke the eye contact and looked away. Klaus got up from her bed and said "now you sleep. This is a new house so mommy …." Hope chipped in "but I have lived in this house before too".

Klaus smiled but Hayley said "Hope we don't interrupt when someone is talking".

He said "yes but now this is your home. Last time you were a guest in this house. As this is your new home and new room so mommy will be sleeping with you for a few days so that you don't get scared and then mommy will move to the other room".

Hope grinned and said "I sleep alone in my old room".

Klaus said "yes but for a few days mommy will share the room with you".

He looked at his wrist watch and said "It is Sunday so lets go have some brunch. Our first brunch as a family".

Hayley said with some hesitation "but Hope and I already have had breakfast".

Klaus said "then you can have coffee and Hope can have something light too. Dont the kids get hungry often?"

Hayley looked at the Cheese Cake Factory sign and smiled.

Klaus looked at her smile and was about to ask her the reason for it when Hope chipped in "mommy where are we?"

Klaus looked at Hope and asked "we are here to have brunch love?"

Hope asked "what is brunch?" whereas Hayley said "Hope has never been to a fancy place like this before".

Klaus asked looking at Hope holding Hayley's hand "and you?"

Hayley looked around and said casually "a very long time ago. Seems like ages".

Klaus looked at her face scanning the environment and knew she was talking about the life before the rape and he started to feel guilty how his act changed her life for ever. He looked at Hope who was now pulling at his sleeve and asking "what is Bunch?"

Klaus smiled and said "_brunch_ is a meal we eat between breakfast and lunch. We combine both meals in one meal".

Hope skipped excitedly, looked at Hayley and said "I want chocolate milk mommy".

They were led to their seats by a young waitress. Hayley ordered chocolate milk for Hope along with pancakes whereas Klaus ordered himself some eggs, coffee and pancakes too. He looked at her as she was staring at the menu and asked "what are you going to order for yourself?"

Hayley said "I am not hungry" as her eyes scanned the prices. She closed the menu and gave it to Klaus.

Klaus looked at her and then said to the waitress "bring her the same I am having".

After the waitress retreated he picked up the glass of water she had put in front of him and said "you should eat more. People will think I am starving you and I will find that very offensive considering I am your husband".

She smiled and said "I never gain weight not matter how hard I try".

She looked at Hope who was coloring the paper and said "how did Mr Mikaelson…. I mean your brother react when you told him about our marriage?"

Klaus leaned back and said "Elijah was shocked as expected. But he will get over it. He likes you".

Hayley's head snapped in his direction and saw him looking towards a table where a young couple was sitting snuggled close to each other. As she was watching him he looked away from them and caught her looking at him.

He smiled and said "so do you think you will like New Orleans?" Before she could answer the waitress came back with their order.

She gave Hope the chocolate milk when she heard a voice "Klaus, what a surprise!"

Hayley looked up at a very pretty blonde who was smiling at Klaus.

Klaus asked "are you following me partner?"

She laughed and said "yes sure. You are the only one I will follow right like we dont see each other every day".

Klaus smiled and turned to Hayley and said "Hayley, Alexis, my partner. Alexis Hayley, my wife. and this is our daughter Hope".

Hayley felt her eyes expand in surprise and wondered _'has Klaus not told anyone about their marriage'._

Alexis recovered from the shock, smiled and said "o wow Klaus, you deceiver. I was supposed to get married before you. Wait till Alex finds out".

She shook Hayley's hand who had stood up and said with a smile "it is very nice to meet you Hayley. Klaus is the best you know and seeing that I am his partner you and I need to bond over his flaws".

Hayley smiled and said "looking forward to it".

Alexis bend down and said to Hope "hello Hope. It is so nice to see you. Will you be my friend?"

Hope looked at Hayley shyly and snuggled close to her.

Klaus said "of course she will. She needs a aunt in New Orleans and Alexis need a niece to spoil right Alexis?"

Alexis said "of course" and then she said to him "I will let you have the family time and will see you around Hayley".

As she walked away Hayley noticed his gaze on her face. He said "Alexis is my partner more like a sister. I have known her for the past seven months and she has never made me feel Rebekah's absence and I would love it if you two get along as much as we do".

Hayley smiled and said "I like her. She is sweet".

Klaus smiled and dug into his breakfast. He noticed that she hardly touched her breakfast but drank the coffee. Hope ate her fruits and drank her milk. They packed the leftovers, he paid the bill and they left with him hoping that she will finish it some time later in the day.

After the breakfast Klaus showed them around the city a bit, took Hope to a park near the apartment, tried to occupy her with random chit chat but soon discovered that his work is not as laid out as he had imagine. They returned in the evening. By that time Hope was tired. He said to her "why dont you give her something to eat and put her to bed and then we can eat something later".

After she nodded Klaus went to his room whereas she gave her hot milk, a cheese sandwich.

She then bathed Hope, changed her into her pink nightclothes and settled her in the bed. She kissed her on the forehead and was about to read a book to her when she noticed Klaus standing at the door. From his wet hair she gauged that he had just taken a shower. She said smilingly "it was a great day. Hope had loads of fun".

Klaus itched to ask "and you?" but didnt.

He just smiled looking at Hope. Hayley followed his gaze and asked impulsively "do you want to sit while I read to her?"

Klaus nodded and walked to the bed and sat at the foot of the bed.

He sat there listening to Hayley reading to her, noticing the shakiness in her voice, knowing well that was because of him. After around five minutes Hayley closed the book and kissed Hope on her forehead and said "good night honey".

Hope said with a smile "good night mommy".

Hayley got up and went to the closet to put her clothes. She smiled as she heard him say "good night love".

Klaus bent down and kissed Hope on the forehead at the exact same spot where Hayley had kissed her. As he stepped back she smiled and said shyly "good night daddy".

He felt as if his heart had stopped beating at the same time a lump in his throat and realized that the last time it had happened was when he had heard about his father's death. He turned around and saw Hayley looking at them. He smiled and then looked back at Hope who had turned to her side and had her eyes closed.

He retreated from the room without saying anything to Hayley.

Hayley saw him leaving the room and looked at Hope and saw that she had already gone to sleep. She stood there marveling at how easily Hope had broken the wall between her and Klaus. She wondered _'what should she do to achieve that?'_

His words "you will have to make an effort too Hayley' were echoing in her mind and reflecting back at the day they had she realized that he had been making an effort all day long while she had not taken first step in anything so after some deliberation, remembering that they were supposed to eat dinner, she left the room softly closing the door behind her.

He was lying on his bed thinking about going to the kitchen and making something to eat when his cell rang. He smiled as he read Elijah's name on the caller ID.

Hayley looked around in the fridge and when she couldn't find anything she decided to make something.

He asked "so what time are you arriving Elijah?" when he heard a sound coming from the kitchen.

He got up from his bed and headed out of the room.

Elijah said "at 2 Saturday afternoon but I have a meeting and then I need to see the office and then will drop by. I have a flight on Sunday evening so not opening my house this time. On that topic why dont you move in that house now?"

Klaus walked into the kitchen said "hmm, I didn't thought about it, but now that you mention it I will give it some thought and I let you know".

He looked at Hayley who was opening the drawer and taking out the knife and then looking around for something.

He asked "how is she?" making Hayley look a him while Klaus eyed the vegetables on the counter next to the knife. He gestured her aside, bend down and opened the bottom cabinet next to the sink and gave her the chopping board. She smiled and took it from him and started chopping the vegetables.

Elijah said "better. But the news of your marriage didn't sit well with any one. Just a fair warning. I had not realized how much she hates her. This marriage will not help the situation".

Klaus looked at Hayley who was looking at him. He asked "what do you need?"

Hayley said "a pan to make pasta. Do you have spaghettis?" whereas Elijah said "nothing".

Klaus said "no I am talking to Hayley" while taking out the pan from the bottom cabinet next to the stove.

Elijah said "oh okay. Any way I will be coming on Saturday afternoon. Will talk then".

After putting the cell down Hayley said to him "I wanted to talk to you about my job. I want to join New Orleans' office but for that I need a babysitter for Hope".

Klaus gave her pasta pack and asked "why do you want to work?"

Hayley looked at him and said "because I need the job Klaus".

Klaus at once knew what she was talking about so he said "I mean why do you want to work right now. You have just moved in here. Hope needs time to adjust; Everything is different for her. Lets look for a good babysitter for her and then you can work if you still want to. How about putting her to school?"

Hayley said pouring water into the pan "yes, I want to. After summer break. She is turning Five in June".

Klaus asked "when?" handing her oil bottle, salt and pepper.

Hayley poured some oil in the pan, put vegetables in it and said as they sizzled "June 25th".

Klaus stared at her remembering that he was supposed to get married to Caroline that day and then he remembered her reaction in Elijah's office when Caroline had told her the wedding date. Hayley turned around and opened a cabinet when he asked "plates?"

When she nodded he pointed toward the right most cabinet and said "if you want we can move to Elijah's house. He offered it to me.".

Hayley said "no, this is okay. It is near your work too right?" as she poured the past in the boiling water.

Klaus said "yes".

Hayley said "then here is fine".

Hayley suddenly felt dizzy so she put her hand on the counter.

Klaus saw her holding onto the kitchen counter and at once knew something was not right. He asked her "what happened?"

Hayley said after a second of silence "I dont know. I just feel dizzy".

Klaus stared at her knowing well that her chemo side affects must be acting up again. He almost wished he would talk to her about her cancer but he had realized from her hesitation in the car on the way back from the marriage registrar office that she was not ready to talk about it just like he was not ready to talk about his secret. So he said "Too much outing in the heat. May be if you eat something you will feel better".

Hayley thought of refusing but then she realized that she needed to eat something to gain some strength. She suddenly realized she was due to have a chemo in near future. She looked at Klaus and wondered should she tell him right then about her cancer or wait it out.

Klaus said seeing her thoughtful expressions "why dont you sit? I will finish this and then we can eat and turn ourselves in. I have work tomorrow too".

As she sat on the small kitchen table, he expertly took over and within minutes he was putting the pasta dish in front of her and he settled down to eat too. During the dinner Klaus noticed that even though she was eating her food but still she didn't look so good. He tried to engage her in conversation to which she was answering yes or no so he stopped talking after a while.

After they were done he said to her "now go and rest. You will feel better by morning. I will clean up".

Hayley didn't need to be told twice. She got up and left. Klaus cleaned the kitchen thinking about how to draw her out and then retreated in his bedroom too and went to sleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

Next morning he left his apartment after making coffee for himself and before Hayley and Hope even got up. He was looking at the perp file that the captain had put on his table when Alexis walked towards him and leaned against his desk, then asked him in an accusatory tone "what was that Klaus? I thought it was you and Caroline".

Klaus sighed and looked up from the file he was looking at and said "Caroline and I had been having a lot of disagreements for the past two months and things were not good so we mutually decided to call it off".

Alexis said "and Hayley?"

Klaus said "she was my father's secretary in our office in Mystic Falls. (I got the chance to work with her after my father died and gradually. During mine and Caroline's problems I got to know her better and didnt know when I fell for her. I asked her to marry me and she said yes".

Alexis asked still looking confused "and Hope?"

Klaus looked down and said "she is her daughter but now she is ours".

Alexis asked him "but Caroline! You loved her! I know you did".

Klaus said "yes I did but we were having very serious problems Alexis. We both wouldn't have been happy if we had entered the wedding with those problems".

Alexis asked "now are you happy?"

Klaus looked at his hand and thought for a moment and then looked up and said "yes".

Klaus looked up as Ben entered the squad room and said "there was a robbery at the bodega at the corner of 24th and 38th. Mikaelson you and Woods take this one".

Klaus nodded, took out his gun and badge from the drawer and left the squad room with Alexis.

After coming back from the bodega and apprehending the perps he put them behind the bars and was went down to the ground floor to submit the evidence. He was climbing up the stairs thinking about how easily he had managed to apprehend on that chase and realized his werwolf abilities; speed and extra strength were kicking in faster then he had imagined. He smiled at that realization as he skipped two steps at a time to get to his floor. He stopped just before entering the squad room as he saw her sitting on the bench scanning the people passing by. He wondered '_what was she doing here?'_

He smiled as he noticed the degrading way she was looking around her. He walked to her and said "hey Caroline, what a pleasant surprise! When did you come?"

Caroline stood up and her face lit up as she spotted him. She stepped forward and kissed him on his lips taking him by surprise.

Klaus stepped back as soon as her lips touched his and said "Caroline, I cannot".

She said "come on Klaus, we can make it work. Even though it has never been done before, I actually think that we can make our marriage work."

Klaus looked at her in confusion and said "Caroline, Hayley and I got married this Saturday". He showed her his left hand.

She stared at the ring in his ring finger and then at him and the smile vanished from her face, only to be replaced by anger and resentment.

She exclaimed "what?! but we broke up last week Klaus. How could you get married so quickly?" Her voice raised by the end of her sentence.

A couple of passerby's looked at them. Klaus looked at her with raised eyebrows and said "I understand that you are upset but do you want to shout or talk about it?"

Caroline said angrily "don't patronize me Klaus. you moved on. You married her and forgot about me like I was some kind of discarded piece of clothing".

Klaus looked at her in shock and said "please Caroline. This is my work place so lets go and talk somewhere".

Caroline jerked his hand away from her arm and said angrily "don't dare to calm me down. You proposed to her before you broke up with me and then you got married to her faster then blinking an eye. How could you do that to me? I am starting to think that that you have been sleeping with her when we were together".

Klaus felt himself losing temper but he took a deep breath to calm himself and said "no, I was not having an affair with her. I want to explain everything to you but if you are going to act that way then I would prefer that you leave".

Caroline stared at him and then stormed out of there.

He sighed with exasperation and went to the squad room. Alexis looked at the frown on his forehead and asked "I saw Caroline outside. Is everything okay?"

Klaus sighed and said "yes, just an argument".

They were luckily called on a case so his mind got distracted. When they came back, she was waiting for him in the waiting room.

As he entered she stood up and said "listen I am sorry for what happened earlier. It will take me some time to get used to the idea that you and I will not be able to share our lives together. I really want to get to know Ms…. Hayley seeing that you and I are best friends and we will always have a connection".

Klaus said with a smile "I am glad that you are willing to work on it Caroline. I am sure you will realize soon that we couldn't have worked out".

From her expressions, Klaus realized that she was not convinced on the topic but he thought _'better not to stir the hornet's nest.' _

Caroline said with a smile "I also want to apologize to her".

Klaus asked "why?"

He noticed her looking apologetic and his heart skipped a beat as she said "I was rude to her when I found out that you had proposed to her".

Klaus wondered _'why didnt Hayley tell him about it?'_ but he asked Caroline "when? what did you do? I cannot imagine you being rude to anyone".

She said regretfully "well I am not too proud of it. But I love you so much and your breaking up with me just threw me off and when I saw her and she told me about the proposal I just lost it"

Klaus wondered _'what had happened and where? Did it happen before he came back from Mystic Falls or after'_ but he decided not to ask her.

He said to her "I will be heading home in half an hour. If you want to wait here you can otherwise I can pick you up from somewhere and we can go home together".

Caroline looked around the room with contempt and said "I will wait for you at the coffee shop around the corner".

Klaus nodded and headed out leading her out of the station.

She was playing with Hope with her doll but her mind was busy thinking about Klaus and her relationship and their future. She startled when her cell rang. She picked it up and saw his name on the caller ID. She sighed, put it against her ear and said "hello".

Klaus said "I wanted to tell you Caroline is in town. She stopped by this morning and I told her about our marriage. She was really upset and left. A couple of minute ago she came back and said she wanted to meet you and Hope and wanted to apologize about something. What was that about?"

Hayley looked at Hope remembering her and Caroline's last encounter and said "oh that was nothing. So is she going to be visiting?"

Klaus said flipping through the file "yes I will bring her along when I am done here. She might stay the night".

He felt like asking her to move in his room so that Caroline does not suspect anything but for some reason he couldn't find the courage to ask her that.

She said "right".

When she was putting the cell down, he asked "how is Hope doing?"

Hayley smiled and said "good. I think she is starting to understand what we told her yesterday".

He said "okay good. See you in an hour".

Hayley sat there looking at Hope chattering away for a few minutes and then she got up and went to the bathroom.


	13. Chapter 13 Uninvited guest

**_A/N: thanks for the wonderful comments. You guys might be onto something about Caroline Lol. but lets see. Hope you like this chapter too. It is really long so be patient and enjoy the drama lol._**

**_Synopsis: Klaus and Hayley adjust to their new life while Caroline is visiting them. Hayley decides to tell Klaus about her health condition when she is backed into the corner. Hayley starts to develop conflicting feelings for Klaus._**

* * *

><p>An hour later when Klaus entered the apartment withCaroline, it felt strange [different] and he realized that it was because of Hayley and Hope. The apartment was not empty anymore. He had a family now and that thought just made him feel warm. The feeling just intensified as he saw the table set for four. He smiled at Hayley and bend down to pick up Hope who was standing near Hayley. He said to Caroline while looking at Hope "Caroline you remember Hayley right?"<p>

Hayley couldn't help but see the resentment in Caroline's eyes but she thought inwardly "calm down Hayley, this reaction was expected." but the calm she was trying to get felt slipping when Caroline said in a cold voice "dont be silly Nikky. How can I forget Ms Marshall?!"

He noticed how smile slipped from Hayley mouth. He turned to Caroline and said "Hayley".

Caroline asked innocently "what?"

Klaus said "Hayley not Ms Marshall. This is Hope. Our daughter".

He saw shock on her face.

Caroline felt her world was turning totally upside down but she quickly composed herself, giving Klaus and Hayley a great smile and said "I didnt know you had a daughter Ms… Hayley".

Hayley smiled and said "I try to keep my personal life and professional life seperate".

Caroline looked at Klaus talking to Hope and said in an undertone hat only Hayley could hear it "apparently not".

Hayley looked at her angrily following her gaze but Klaus said "You know the apartment. Why don't you freshen up. I will be back in a minute?" He put Hope on the floor and went to his room without noticing how Hayley flinched at his words.

Klaus entered the bathroom and stopped as he saw a couple of lipsticks, a new toothbrush and female perfumes on the counter top. He looked up as he sensed her and saw her reflection in the mirror.

She said "I thought she might find it weird seeing my stuff in the other bathroom".

From the way his shoulder's relaxed he realized how tense he had been ever since he had left the station.

She turned to leave but stopped and said "thanks for not asking me to move in with you".

He said "and thanks for doing this without my asking you to".

Dinner was rather a quiet affair. In spite of him trying to make small conversation. Klaus was feeling really awkward so much so that Hayley was starting to feel sorry for him and she wondered _'how hard it must be to give up on the love of his life for his responsibilities.' _whereas Klaus was thinking _'how can he make Caroline understand it would never have worked out between them?' _

He felt somewhat relieved as Hope occupied him with how she had spend the day. He noticed Caroline staring at Hope a couple of times and wondered '_is she making a connection between them?'_ but when he looked at Hope sitting next to Hayley, apart from the blues mixed with brown in her eyes and those dimples which she was not showing right now there was nothing similar between them. His gaze went to Hayley sitting next to her and he saw the resemblance between them; the dark brown wavy hair, the beautiful complexion, the full lips… his gaze got fixed on Hayley's lips and out of blue he felt his stomach muscles tightening taking him by surprise.

He turned toward Caroline and caught her staring at Hayley too. He cleared his throat and asked "where are you staying?"

Caroline said looking at him "not decided yet".

Klaus asked impulsively "why dont you stay here?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he noticed Hayley looking at him.

Hayley looked at him in shock whereas Caroline said hesitantly "are you sure? I think I shouldn't".

She looked at Hayley and said "Hayley might not like it".

Hayley fixed a smile on her face and said "no, it is fine. Hope can sleep in our room".

Caroline said "no, I will sleep on the couch".

Klaus said "no, you should take Hope's room" now realizing the blunder he had committed and chided himself _'idiot, why did he have to offer her to stay here?'_

He looked at Hayley wondering _'what is she thinking'_ but she was busy with Hope.

Hayley said after a few moments "why dont you chat while I get Hope ready for bed. It's already pass her bedtime and let me get some things out of her room".

She took Hope to her room, took out her sleeping clothes from the walking closet along with some other necessary things for the next day thinking _'why would he do that? How can he expect her to be okay with having his ex in the same house in which his wife is living?'_ and then it hit her; all her own things were in Hope's room. She startled as she heard him say "I am sorry I didnt think it through Hayley"

She looked at his face and saw genuine apology so she said to him "it is okay but my stuff is in this room. If you keep her entertained for a while I can move my things from here".

Klas said feeling guilty for putting her in the spot "that was really stupid of me. I told you I will give you space and then I did this. The thing is that Caroline and I are… were very close. She is my first love. You need to understand. I cannot fall out of love overnight".

Hayley looked at him and to her surprise she felt a drop in her stomach at those words but she said with a smile "I know and I dont expect you to".

Klaus looked a there for a moment and then said "I will take her out for a while".

She nodded and left.

She heard him say to Caroline "I need to do some grocery shopping. Care to come?"

Caroline said excitedly "sure why not".

Hayley heard the door close as she changed Hope's clothes and said to her "honey, daddy friend is going to be staying in this room tonight so we will be sleeping in daddy's room for tonight".

Hope smiled and nodded as she pulled her arm into the shirt. Hayley looked around and then feeling very nervous she took off her hangers with her clothes on along with her personal stuff to his room. She felt weird as she hung her clothes in his walking closet and then she put her undergarment in her small traveling bag and put them in one corner of the walking closet. She then turned to Hope and laid her on his bed. She opened the book and read the story to Hope. After Hope had gone to sleep she sat there with her hand on her forehead. She looked around as she sat next to her and saw even though the room was small but it was very tastefully set. She moved her hand on the bed sheet ideally and felt her heart skip a beat as the thought crossed her mind that she will be spending the night with him for the first time in her life.

She lost track of time thinking about her situation. An hour later she heard them enter the apartment as she was sitting on his bed after putting Hope to sleep. She heard him say "I will put the milk and the eggs in the fridge. Why don't you go and settle own in the Hope's room. You know where things are right?"

He closed the fridge door thinking of his and Hayley first time sharing a bed. He turned around and bumped into her.

She asked him "Klaus I have been thinking and observing ever since I have walked into this apparent tonight and _I know_ that you dont love her so why have _you married her?_ I am trying to understand why we couldn't get married and may be some day I will understand it but I will never understand why have you married her? Isn't she the same woman who had an affair with your father?" She paused for just a second and then asked in shocked voice "Is her daughter his daughter too?"

He looked at her in confusion and then it hit her what she was saying and remembered his own suspicion and almost smirked at the irony of the coincidence. He suddenly felt the strong urge of sharing everything with her like he used to all his life but then he reminded himself of the cost and said "no Hope is not my father's daughter Caroline and I don't believe any more that Hayley was having an affair with my father either".

Hayley decided to get water for herself so she got up and left her room. As she entered the kitchen she stopped as she saw him and her standing close to each other. There was a sinking feeling in her stomach to her dismay. But before she could turn back he looked towards her and caught her looking at them.

Klaus stepped back and said "I think we should sleep. I have work in the morning. Will you be okay in that room?"

When she nodded he went to his room.

When he entered his room, she was pacing the room. As he closed the door Hayley said coldly "Klaus I know our marriage is weird but I don't appreciate you having an affair with anyone especially your ex. If I am not going to cheat on you then you will not do so too. I know you both still love each other and I honestly sympathize with both of you but you are not allowed to cheat on me".

Klaus looked at her and for some reason he found the situation very amusing and at last he nodded and said "I assure you Hayley, I will never cheat on my wedding vows".

He looked at Hope sleeping in the middle of the bed and smiled making Hayley follow his gaze. When she turned towards him, he had gone to change his clothes.

Hayley stood there feeling awkward and then she saw him walk out of bathroom in pajamas and went to lie on the bed.

She took out her night clothes and went to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

She took a lot of time in the bathroom and by the time she came back he was already asleep.

She looked at him for a while and then after slight hesitation she got under the covers next to Hope.

She laid on the bed with her face turned towards Hope and couldn't help but look at his face which was turned towards Hope too. She felt really weird as she realized that this was the first time she was sharing a bed with a man - especially a man with whom she shared this wonderful child sleeping in between them. She wondered _'why did she feel jealous about him and Caroline in the kitchen'? _and then she said to herself "why should she be jealous? He is her husband after all".

Hope stirred in her sleep and turned towards Klaus and to Hayley's amusement Hope hand landed on his shoulder. Before she could remove it, he opened his eyes.

He left something hit his shoulder causing him to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was Hope's face close to his face and not far behind her Hayley's with her eyes wide open. He asked her "cannot sleep?"

Hayley shook her head and said "I am sorry. She is not a sound sleeper. She fidgets a lot during the night" while taking off her hand from his shoulder.

Klaus said "it is okay but why are you awake?"

Hayley said "dont know why but I will few minutes".

Klaus nodded, closed his eye and soon had gone back to sleep.

Next morning when Hayley woke up the first thing she noticed was Hope snuggling close to Klaus and his arm around her small torso with fingers resting between Hope and her body. She suddenly felt nervous by the closeness of those fingers near her body so she sneaked out of the bed. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and brushed her hair followed by the typical groan at the broken strands of hair and the thought _'when should she tell him about her cancer? Does he not deserve to know about it?'_ but then she lost the nerves to take that step again.

When she came out both Klaus and Hope were awake and to her amusement she was sitting on his torso and telling him something. Klaus looked at her, smiled and said "good morning" and opted not to say anything about their sleeping arrangement thinking it might make her uncomfortable.

Hayley smiled and said "good morning".

She walked over to him and picked Hope up from his torso and asked "when do you have to leave?"

Klaus said "in thirty minutes. You tend to her and then I will get ready".

Hayley hurriedly washed Hope's face, brushed her teeth and came out. Hayley said to Hope "I am glad I took out a dress for you from your room last night."

Klaus walked into the walking closet, took his clothes out and then his gaze fell on the female clothes and even though he had female clothes in his closet before but somehow this felt different to him. And suddenly he wished that she does not move out of his room after Caroline goes back. But he knew that there were not there yet so crushed his wish and came out of the walking closet and saw her standing near Hope saying "mommy will we sleep here tonight again?"

Klaus smiled and closed the bathroom door behind him before he could hear her answer.

Hope asked her "mommy will we sleep here tonight again?"

Hayley groaned but said "if daddy's friend is still here tonight".

She wondered while changing her clothes _'should she tell Hope not to tell Caroline about their sleeping arrangement or not?' _but then she thought _'why teach her lies at such a tender age!'_

In the meanwhile Klaus stood under the shower thinking about the impact of Caroline living under the same roof as Hayley; the thought that had been haunting him since he had offered Caroline to stay with them. But then he told himself "it is only for a few days and Caroline is really sweet. Hayley knows the circumstances in which they got married so everything will be okay."

He realized while changing his clothes he had this nagging feeling that he couldn't shake off.

She turned around as the bathroom door open and Klaus came out. He walked to the other side to the bed, picked up his badge and said to her "I will be late. I have to go on a stake out today".

Hayley nodded and asked "breakfast?"

Klaus said "I just have coffee."

Klaus looked at her somber face and asked "are you okay?"

Hayley looked at him this time and said "yes I am".

She looked towards the door and asked in a lower volume "how long Caroline will be staying Klaus?"

Klaus heart skipped a beat but he said casually "I don't know. Why?"

Hayley said "just asking".

He paused for a second and asked after slight hesitation "will you be okay with Caroline?"

Hayley said with a smile "yes. Why do you ask?"

Klaus hesitated and said "Caroline is really nice but I understand that she is really upset right now and she does have a temper issue so that just makes me a bit anxious."

That made Hayley smile. She picked up Hope's nightdress and asked while folding it "anxious about us or her?"

Klaus said "you of course. She can look after herself but I am not sure about you".

Before she could stop herself the words were out "I think I can handle Caroline after what I have been through the past five years".

As soon as the words were out she realized her mistake, she looked towards him and saw him paling. She hastily said "I am sorry. I shouldn't have said that".

Klaus said now composing himself "no it is okay. One of these days I will like to know about the last five years of your life".

When she didn't say anything he said "okay I will be leaving".

He was pouring coffee for himself thinking of what she had said when he heard her say "Klaus I am sorry. I shouldn't have…" but he turned to her smiling. He said "Hayley forget it. I am off. Good bye Hope".

He kissed her and smiled when she hugged him back and said "good bye daddy".

Around 11 o clock, Caroline entered the kitchen dressed in a fawn coloured pat and white shirt and put coffee on to brew. Hayley looked at her beautifully made up face and wondered _'how can Klaus resist this face?' _

Hayley looked at her moving around in the kitchen taking out things in a familiar way feeling really annoyed. She turned to Hayley and said "morning".

Hayley said "morning. I hope you had a comfortable night".

Caroline looked at her and said "yes I did. But I imagine yours must be ruined considering a newly married couple and a child between them".

Hayley was so taken back by those words that she didn't know what to say so she kept quiet. After a few minutes she asked "Caroline, I am going to the store nearby, do you want to come?"

Caroline said curtly "no, I have something to do."

She looked at Hope and said "your daughter is really pretty you know. You are very lucky that a person like Klaus has entered you life. He can provide for everything you ever dreamed for her".

Hayley looked at her and couldn't help but detect sarcasm in her tone. She thought of giving her a rebuttal but then said with a smile "yes, Klaus is really wonderful with Hope. I wouldn't have hoped for a better father then him".

Caroline smirked at her thinking _'is she really that naive not to get a sarcasm?_ and said to Hope "hey sweetie, thank you from sharing your room with me. Can I visit again?"

Hope looked at Hayley and then at Caroline and said shyly "yes, then I can sleep with mommy and daddy".

Hayley saw her flinch clearly this time and suddenly felt sorry for her.

She said to Caroline "I never got to tell you how sorry I am that things didnt work out between you and Klaus. You are his best friend and I know that he wants you to remain his friend so I hope that works out for you both."

Caroline walked to her and said harshly "you are mistaken _Hayley_. We are not friends. We are each others soulmate. Klaus and I will always love each other. I don't know why he married you but he will never develop those feelings for you that he has for me".

Hayley couldn't stop the furry she felt for Caroline this time so she said to her with a cold but calm voice while picking up the plates from the table and putting them in the sink "Seeing that we are married, I am willing to bet that that day is not far off but I am getting why he decided to not marry you".

Caroline smirked and said "I know Klaus married you so that he can justify the money his father left for you and save family name and to hide the truth about this child's parentage".

Hayley felt her heart sink and turned to her slowly thinking_ 'Klaus told her' _but before she could say anything Caroline smiled and said "I will be off. I am going to be staying one more day if you dont mind".

Hayley looked at her unable to believe what she had said and then she couldn't help but say "you think you will stay in my house after talking to me like that".

Caroline said with a smile "Klaus's house, not yours and I just stated the facts. I didnt say anything that was not true but if it bothers you, then I apologize."

Hayley stared at her wondering if she was being sincere and from the look on her face she realized that she meant it so she smiled and nodded.

After she left, Hayley started cleaning the small apartment while recalling Caroline's words and thinking _'has Klaus told her about Hope? Does everyone apart from her know about the money Mikael had left for her? What else does she know about him and her? How close Klaus and Caroline really are?'_

As the thought crossed her mind, she knew exactly how close they were when she told herself "they were engaged so they must have been sexually involved too".

Her heart sank when she realized it, but she told herself "don't be sentimental and stupid. Of course he was sexually active before you came into his life. It is not like he was a celibate". By the time she was done straightening up the apartment she realized that it had only taken her one hour. She took out her laptop and started looking for oncologists in the area where she lived and at last found a female doctor in Madison. She called her office and made an appointment for Saturday thinking '_Klaus can keep Hope while she is at the appointment'_ and then gave them Jim Ackles number so that he can send her medical files over.

After she was done with that, she picked up her bag, took Hope and walked to the grocery story near her house after searching through the internet.

She picked up the eggs and as she turned around to put it in the cart, someone said "hey Hayley, how are you?"

Hayley turned around to the voice and said "Alexis, how are you?"

Alexis said with a smile "good. Busy but good. You tell me how is the newly wed. Klaus joined the force so quickly. You should have kept him home for a few days at least".

Hayley smiled and said "same here. He had taken a lot of time off at his father's death so he couldn't take anymore".

Alexis said "o yeah that is right".

She then looked at Hope sitting in the cart and said "hey sweetie, remember me?"

When Hope shook her head she said with a smile "well dont worry. We will become good friends. My name is Alexis. I work with your daddy and I love your doll. What is her name?"

Hope who was already looking at her said shyly "Anna".

Alexis said "you know I love dolls too. When you come to my house I will show you my doll that my mommy gave me when I was your age".

Hope asked excitedly "what is her name?"

Alexis said with a laugh "Donna. Do you want to see her?"

Hope said "I do. mommy?"

Alexis looked at Hayley and said "she is just adorable. You should bring her over. I will tell Klaus to bring you over. Here have my number".

Hayley smiled and took out her cell and typed her phone number as she recited.

As she was storing her phone number Alexis asked "so you liking New Orleans?"

Hayley said "yes, it is getting a bit warm but otherwise good".

Alexis said picking up the carton of milk "I am having people over tonight so I thought of doing some last minute grocery".

Hayley wondered _'party on a weekday' _but before she could comment on it Alexis continued saying as she put the milk carton in her cart "I got off early today and luckily my parents are visiting so decided to get Alex's, my fiancé's, parents in too so we can have a quiet dinner and chit chat".

Hayley said with a smile "oh that is great. When are you getting married?"

Alexis said "June 10th. You and Klaus have to come, you know that right".

Hayley said smilingly "Oh thanks. I will look forward to it. I have never been to a wedding".

Alexis smiled, looked at the wrist watch and then said "I better run. See you around. I will invite you to my apartment soon".

After she left, Hayley continued with her shopping now but couldn't help wonder _'don't partners go on stake outs together or something?'_

She shook her head and looked at Hope who was smiling looking down at her doll.

After reaching home, she fixed dinner for Hope, fed her, played with her a bit, changed her and put her in his bed assuming that Caroline might come back today too. She changed her clothes wondering _'what was Klaus doing and where was Caroline'. _

As the time went by her anger at Caroline started to built up at the carelessness from her for not telling her that she will be late or not come home at all. At last she warmed up a glass of milk for herself and then after changing her clothes she went to bed.

She tried to go to sleep but couldn't and then out of blue a thought came to her mind as an image of him and Caroline standing in the kitchen flashed through her mind '_Alexis is not with Klaus. Caroline is not home. Has Klaus just lied to her and they are together right now?'_ Then she reminded herself of what Klaus had told her about him not cheating on her and she said to herself "trust him" and then closed her eyes. Soon she went to sleep.

Klaus was driving home around mid night after the full moon feeling exhausted. He realized even though his transition this time was painless but it had tired him considering he had to go to bayou after his shift at the statin and as usual he was feeling really hungry. He rubbed at the back of his neck and thought about having a quick snack before going to sleep. He pressed his foot on the accelerator a bit when his cell rang. He connected the call through bluetooth and said "hello".

He frowned as he heard a slurry voice "hello Nikky".

Klaus asked hesitantly "Caroline".

She hiccuped "yes. I … " there was a clang making Klaus wonder what was that.

He said "hello!"

A few moment later someone said "hello".

Klaus asked "who is it?"

The same voice said "hello this lady is totally drunk here and is in no condition to even walk. I cannot let her drive in this condition. If you are a friend, come and pick her up".

Klaus rubbed his forehead and said "yes I am a friend. Where is she?"

The man said "Rousseau's in French Quarter".

Klaus groaned but said "okay I will be there in ten minutes".

He put the cell down and hit the steering wheel with his hand and wondered _'what to do? If someone sees him there and finds out about him'_ but he realized that he had to go and get her.

As he entered the bar, a man approached him and said "werewolves are not allowed in the Quarter".

Klaus said "I am here to pick up someone".

The man hissed "if Marcel finds out that a werewolf broke the ban, he will kill you".

Klaus snapped at him "the ban is on Crescent wolves not on all the wolves".

He then stepped forward and said "and if you dont want to suffer the agony of the werewolf bite then step aside".

He walked to the bar and said "I got a call about someone drunk"

He looked around and spotted Caroline with her head on the table. He walked to her and shook her and realized that she was unconscious. The bartender looked at him and said "are you the one I talked on the phone?"

He nodded and then groaned as someone grabbed him from behind and threw him across the room. HE got up quickly, amazed at his own speed with which he had gotten up. He looked at the man, who was originally having an argument with him, with a smirk on his mouth. Klaus looked at Caroline with her head on the table and then at the man who had gotten his fangs out. Klaus lunged at him but his attacker dodged Klaus. Klaus spun around quickly and held his neck in his arms and hissed "you have a death wish or something".

He looked towards the bar entrance as he heard a voice "Klaus what is going on?"

He looked towards the door and said angrily "Marcel! tell your men to keep their anger in check".

He threw the man in his grasp towards Marcel and turned towards Caroline, scooped her up and said to the bartender "thank you".

He brushed past Marcel and carried her to his car, put her in the passenger seat and closed the door.

During the drive to his apartment he looked at Caroline and felt guilt seep into his heart knowing fully well why she was so drunk at this time of the night. He sighed and stared at the empty road and tried not to think about what if he had not gotten married to Hayley but then Hope's smile face just jumped into his mind making his heart feel light.

He looked at Caroline who head was resting against the seat rest as he stopped the car outside his apartment building.

He scooped her up and felt his heart skip a beat as her arms went around his neck. He looked at her closed eyes and started walking upstairs. As he unlocked the front door, he heard her say "Nik".

Klaus looked at her and saw her looking at him with teary eyes.

He carried her to Hope's room and lowered her on the bed and said "shh it is okay".

Caroline said in a teary voice "nothing is okay. I miss you. I don't think I can live without you".

Klaus didn't know what to say so he kept quiet. He stepped back but felt the tug as Caroline pulled him towards him and planted a kiss on his mouth.

Before he could do anything she had her already wrapped arm around her neck tightened around his neck. Klaus suddenly came out of trance. He broke the kiss and stepped back releasing her arms from around her neck.

He said sternly "Caroline no".

Caroline looked at him with tears in her eyes and it broke his heart as they slid down her cheek. She said with teary eyes "why Klaus? Just tell me why couldn't you give it a try at least. We could have worked it out. Why did you have to marry her?"

Klaus looked at her feeling guilty at how broken she was. He said "Caroline, please dont make it worse for yourself and for me. I want you to move on with your life. It will take some time but you will".

He looked at her as she stared at him quietly with tears streaming down her cheeks. He then stepped back and retrieved from her room.

As he entered his room, he stopped as he saw Hope and Hayley sleeping in his bed and smiled. All the fatigue he had been having after having a long day at the station and the full moon and then dealing with Caroline flew out of the window immediately replaced by the guilt at the kiss he had just shared with Caroline. He looked at Hayley sleeping peacefully with her hand on Hope's chest and the hair covering her face. He stood there looking at her remembering her telling him about not cheating on her and wondered how will she react if she finds out about the kiss but he also knew that he couldn't hide that kiss form her so he made up his mind to tell her about the kiss first thing in the morning. He felt somewhat calmed and went to change his clothes.

After changing his clothes, he came to lie on the bed and went through the coverup plan he and his captain had come up yesterday. He then thought about the implication of the vampire he had attacked in the French Quarter and wondered _'will he tell anyone about him or Marcel will be able to keep a lid on it?'_

He turned towards Hayley and wondered _'when should he share this secret life of his with her and tell her that their daughter might share that gene of his?'_

He looked at Hope and felt his heart squeeze at the thought of the pain she will have to go through during transformation if she triggers her gene.

He kept looking at her and smiled as she startled in her sleep. He put his hand on her chest and felt a jolt as he felt her rapid beating heart. He kept his hand there and didn't know when he went to sleep feeling that rapid heart beat.

Next morning when Hayley woke up the first thing she saw was Klaus's hand on Hope's chest. She looked at him and then sneak out of the bed. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and quietly left the room. She was making coffee in the kitchen unable to keep the image of his hand on Hope's chest out of her mind when she startled as she heard Caroline saying "good morning".

Hayley turned towards her and said "good morning. I waited for you last night. Are you okay?" looking at her swollen eyes.

Caroline walked to the coffee maker and poured coffee for her and said "yes, just a bad hangover".

She sipped the coffee as she sat on the chair. Hayley looked at her, all of a sudden feeling sorry for her. She went to sit opposite her when Caroline said "I was so drunk that I don't remember what happened last night. The last thing I remember is Klaus helping me in the bed. Oh god this hurts".

She put her hand on her forehead and put her head on the table.

It took all her will power not to react but her heart sank rapidly. Hayley slowly stood up knowing fully well what she was implying. She felt like screaming at her but turned away from her without saying anything. She put the coffee cup in the sink and said coldly "I am going to check on Hope and Klaus. Why don't you drink some more coffee. It will help you with your hangover."

As she started to move towards her room, Caroline said "Oh no I remember now. I cannot believe it …."

Hayley turned towards her questioningly and hoped that she does not finish her sentence but her luck was not with her as Caroline said with her hand on her mouth "I cannot believe that we kissed".

Hayley stared at her and then walked to her and said in a cold voice "well done Ms Forbes. It would have made more impact if Klaus had not told me about that kiss already".

She smiled at her confused expression and continued "it was the first thing he told me when he came to bed so you are a bit late in trying to create a conflict between us".

Hayley turned and went to her room. She closed the door and stood there with her back resting on the door and looking at Hope and Klaus still sleeping. She felt like waking him up and demanding an explanation but she told herself that she will not give both of them the satisfaction of seeing how much this was bothering her.

She went to the bathroom, threw water on the face and then left the room again without waking them up.

Klaus woke up and saw that Hayley was not in the room and Hope was still asleep. He took a quick shower and started getting ready for the station.

He glanced at sleeping Hope for a moment and then left the room.

He stopped as he saw Hayley sitting on the dinning table. He walked to her and said "I need to tell you something".

Hayley looked at him and asked "what?"

By the time Klaus was done telling her about the kiss, she felt a bit better for some reason. She nodded but didn't say anything.

Klaus asked "aren't you going to say anything?"

Hayley said in a calm voice "I think you know what I would have said and that is why you are telling me all this. If you know it then what is the point to saying it again?"

He nodded and said "I am sorry Hayley. It will never happen again".

She smiled but Klaus noticed that the smile did not reach her eyes and that just made him feel more guilty. He poured the coffee in the coffee cup and then said without looking at her "I will be late" and left for the station.

He went straight to his captain's office and said "Ben I need to tell you something".

After he told Ben about his exposure of being a wolf to a vampire in the French Quarter, Ben said "okay good. Thanks for keeping me in the loop. I will take care of it".

Klaus left Ben's office and went to his desk. He had just put his gun in his drawer when the captain came in and said "shooting a the Investment banking. Some stupid person has taken bank manager hostage and started shooting randomly".

There was a rustle and a couple of cops including him, Alexia and Joe got up and headed towards the door. As they headed towards the exit Alexis said "I met Hayley yesterday in QFC".

Klaus looked at her getting into his cop car and said putting the seat belt on "oh".

Alexis said "your daughter is really adorable. would love for you and your family to come over my place this weekend."

KLaus said pulling the car on the road and turning the siren's on "Elijah is visiting over the weekend. Next time?"

Alexis said "sure".

Klaus said after a few moments "did Captain tell you about the stake out I was at last night?"

Alexis said "no, where?"

Klaus said "oh nothing big. FBI needed someone to keep an eye on) on Gendera's family so the captain volunteered me because I'm familiar with that case and considering you were busy with your parents he decided to keep you out of this one."

Alexis said "interesting. Must be fun working with FBI. Hmm Gendera's family. I wonder what they have done this time to get FBI involved".

Klaus stopped the car with the screech outside the bank, looked at her and asked "ready". She nodded and got out of the car taking cover behind the car.

Hayley was putting on Hope's her sneakers and said "lets go Hope. It is so nice and sunny. It will be fun in the park".

As she got up and was leaving, She saw Caroline walking towards her and her heart sank as she suddenly had a very bad feeling.  
>Caroline smiled and said "going somewhere?"<p>

Hope said excitedly "to the park".

Caroline said "what fun!"

She looked at Hayley, smirked and said "it seems you forgot something of yours in Hope's room when you shifted your things in Klaus's room".

Hayley felt a pit in her stomach and the annoyance at that smirk and looked at the lipstick she showed Hayley.

She took the lipstick and said "thank you. I had been looking for it. I must have left it there when I was staying there on my business trip to New Orleans two weeks ago".

She felt some satisfaction as the smile slipped from Caroline's face only to be replaced by furry. She said "you think you can fool me Ms Marshall…"but Hayley cut her off by saying sternly "_Mrs Mikaelson_ if you want to stick with surnames".

Caroline continued in the same tone "you will never be _Mrs Mikaelson_. Just wait and see how I will take him away from you right from under your nose".

She turned and walked away leaving Hayley shaking with fury.

She startled when Hope shook her hand saying "mommy lets go".

Hayley looked at Hope's innocent face and nodded. She said in a loud voice "please make sure you either stay in the apartment or call me if you have to go somewhere".

When she didnt hear anything from Caroline, she wondered for a second what she should do but then left.

It was late afternoon when Hayley entered the apartment hurriedly carrying Hope in her arms. She put Hope on the floor and darted to her room and after slight deliberation she entered the already wide open bathroom.

Klaus looked at his wound and saw that it had completely healed. He looked up in the mirror and saw Hayley's reflection as she entered the bathroom. He noticed her eye shifted to Caroline who was standing next to him and he groaned.

Hayley stopped as she saw Caroline standing next to him with her hand on his arm. Her heart sank but she looked past her and noticed that he had his shirt unbuttoned to the bottom and was pulled back from his left shoulder exposing his bicep. Klaus looked at her face and hastily pulled back the shirt to cover the wound.

She asked "what happened?"

Klaus said "there was a shooting at a bank robbery and the bullet grazed me. But I am fine".

Hayley walked to him and pulled his shirt back from his shoulder to his surprise and said "there is no wound".

Klaus said "like I said It was a graze, barely touched me".

Caroline looked at Klaus and Hayley standing close to each other; with Hayley's eyes on his biceps and his eyes on her face. The intensity and the expression on his face just made her heart sink. She turned away from them without their noticing it and retreated from the bathroom.

Hayley asked still looking at his biceps "whose blood is that?"

Klaus said looking at her face reflecting worry "the person who shot me. I tackled him down. Who told you?"

Hayley said "Alexis called. She said that you probably wouldn't tell me so she wanted to tell me herself".

She looked up and caught him looking at her. She suddenly felt that they were standing too close so she stepped back and said "good you are okay. Hope needs his father to be alive if anything happens to … " She stopped as she realized what she was going to say.

Klaus felt his heart sink but he didn't say anything to her and just watched her leaving the bathroom. When he came into the kitchen she was fixing something up for dinner. He looked at her and saw her hands were visibly shaking. He asked her "are you okay?"

Hayley turned to him and didnt know how and why but she said in a loud voice "_no, I am not freaking okay. You were shot and you are asking me if I am okay_".

She paused and looked at her hand and realized that she was shaking. She looked over his shoulder as Hope entered the kitchen and said "mommy".

Hayley took a deep breath to calm herself down before turning her attention to Hope and then walked to her and knelt near her and asked "baby, what is it?"

Hope looked from her to Klaus and said "I am hungry".

Hayley picked her up and put her on the chair and turned toward the fridge when he said "Hayley!"

But she said "Klaus I want to be alone right now".

He stared at her and then turned and spotted Caroline standing in the living room. He wondered '_did he just see a smile on her face?' _but then he shook his head because clearly there was no smile on her face.

Caroline walked to the kitchen and said "you will have to get used to it Hayley. Nik is a very good detective. He is protecting the world. You cannot freak out every time he is shot or has a near death accident".

Hayley looked towards her angrily and then looked at Klaus who was looking at her too. She said trying to keep her voice calm "_thank you Caroline_. I am so glad you are here for the moral support".

She couldn't help but look at Klaus and saw him looking at her with narrowed eyes.

She looked away and poured milk for Hope and then put the pasta, she had cooked before leaving for the park, in her plate and said "Hope honey, why dont you eat? Mommy will be back in a minute". She went to his room and sat on the bed and realized her hands were still shaking. She wondered _'is her plan backfiring? If anything happens to her if the treatment does not work out and something happens to Klaus on his job then what will happen to Hope.' _

She startled as she heard the door close.

Klaus looked at her sitting on the bed. He rubbed the back of his neck and then walked to her. He sat on the bed at a little distance from her. He said after a few moments "I am sorry you got scared but Caroline is right. This is my job. I need you to be my strength but if you cannot be that then I will not be able to do my job well".

Hayley looked at her shaking hand but didn't say anything. He looked at her hands which were clearly shaking and itched to touch them and steady them but he couldn't find the courage to do so.

He said when she continued to keep quiet "Hayley I dont know how to comfort you. I have been unable to give my mother and… " he paused as he realized that he was going to say Caroline at the same time she looked at him. He continued "my mother comfort about my job but this is one thing you have to learn to live with me. I love my job and it gives me purpose in my life and I sleep better at night knowing that even though you didn't get the justice that you deserve, I am getting it for others."

When she continued to be quiet he asked "would you prefer if I dont bring my work home?"

She looked at him sharply and asked "what do you mean?"

Klaus said keeping his eyes on her face "I mean if something like this happens again, would you prefer that you never find out about it?"

Hayley said at once "no".

Klaus said with a sinking heart "okay then. I will keep my work life separate …" but she cut him off by saying "no, i mean dont do that. I want to know what happens at your job. I just got scared".

As soon the words were out of her mouth she blushed making Klaus smile making her knees go weak. He got up saying "good to see you are worried about me. I think we are making some progress in our relationship".

He stepped toward the door and said "when you are ready come, we will have dinner together".

After Hayley nodded he left the room closing the door behind him softly.

She sat there for a few more minutes and then went to the kitchen too only to make her heart melt as she saw him sitting on the small kitchenette with Hope and chatting with her while Caroline sat opposite to them looking at him.

Hayley walked to them and said "Hope honey if you are done, lets go to bed". She then looked at Caroline and Klaus and said "I will put her to bed, you guys can start the dinner".

Klaus said "no, lets eat together". He looked at Caroline and said "I will be back after putting Hope to bed" to Hayley's surprise.

Next morning when they both came out of their room, Caroline was waiting for them in the living room. Hayley looked at her and then at the bag near her and asked "are you going somewhere?"

Caroline said "yes, I need to go back".

Klaus felt a pit in his stomach but said "oh right".

Caroline said "yes I have already extended my visit at your house".

Klaus asked "when is your flight?"

Caroline said "12 pm".

Hayley was about to say something when Hope chipped in "mommy I want cereal".

Hayley said "come sweetie".

She looked at Caroline and said "I am putting coffee on. You should have breakfast before you leave".

Caroline looked from her to Klaus and then to her and said coldly "I will get what I want. You dont worry about me".

Klaus said "I will drop you at the airport Caroline before I go to the station".

Caroline said "I was hoping of that but I thought Hayley wouldn't like it considering what happened between us the other night".

Hayley smiled and said before Klaus could react "why would I not like it? You said yourself you were drunk".

She could feel his eyes on her but refused to look at him and said "now will you excuse me I have to go and give breakfast to my daughter".

As she left Klaus turned to Caroline and said "are you kidding me? You told her about our kiss. What is wrong with you?"

Caroline stepped towards him and said innocently "I didnt mean to hurt her feelings Klaus. It was my hangover talking. It just slipped out. I am sorry. If you want me to apologize to her I will".

She took a step towards kitchen but Klaus stopped her and said "no it is okay but please be careful with what you say."

She nodded with a sinking heart and then picked up her bag but Klaus said rather coldly "leave it there. I will get them but let me get my coffee and we will leave".

As he entered the kitchen, he saw her cooking something on the stove. He walked to her and asked while pouring the coffee for himself "so when I told you about that kiss you already knew?"

Hayley's hand halted in mid air as she was about to flip the egg. She looked at him without saying anything. He nodded with pursed lips, picked up his coffee and left after picking up Caroline's bag and left.

Later that night when he came home, he saw the table set for the dinner.

Hayley asked him "how was your day?"

Klaus said "good, just one case. How was yours?"

Hayley said "nothing much. We, Hope and I just relaxed and did absolutely nothing".

he said "I will be back after freshening up".

Hayley sat Hope on the chair and said "we need to go to sleep after the dinner okay?"

Klaus had just entered the living room when he heard Hope's adamant voice "but I want to play with daddy".

His heart jumped into his throat and he smiled when Hayley said "he has just come back from his work and is very tired so he might…."

She stopped talking as Klaus entered the kitchen. He said to Hope "we can play for a few minutes. What do you want to play?"

Hope smiled and said "doll".

Klaus laughed and said "well it has been years I have played with dolls".

At Hayley's confused look he said "well when you have one sister she asks you to play with her all the time and if you don't oblige her she would make your life a living hell".

Hayley laughed spontaneously taking him by surprise and be glad that he was sitting down otherwise he was sure his knees would have buckled.

He looked at her smiling face and then realized that she looked relaxed that made him wonder _'is it because of Caroline leaving?'_ but then he shook his head and deliberately stopped thinking about Caroline and focused on his current family.

He looked at Hope and said "so we will play for fifteen minutes after the dinner and then you do what mommy is asking you to do. Deal?"

When she nodded excitedly his heart melted for her.

He put a piece of chicken on his plate and said "Elijah will be coming over day after tomorrow".

When she didn't say anything he looked at her and caught her looking at him.

She asked "you want me to continue with our sleeping arrangements until he comes and during his stay too?"

When Klaus didn't say anything she nodded.

Klaus said "thanks".

The rest of the dinner was a pleasant affair with small conversation between all of them. After dinner Hayley said "why don't you two go and play while I clean up? Can you make sure she brushes her teeth before you get busy with playing"

Klaus nodded and picked up Hope from the chair in impulse and tickled her sending her in fits of laughter and took her to the living room.

When Hayley entered her room twenty minutes later, Hope was lying in the middle of the bed to her relief and Klaus was sitting on the bed with a book in his hand. She looked at Hope and seeing her asleep she asked "what happened? I thought you were going to play with her".

Klaus said "we started but then she started yawning and couldn't keep her eyes open so I put her on the bed and soon after she fell asleep. I guess I came home very late".

Hayley smiled and said "no, it is not that. She is just tired. I took her to a park in the evening".

Klaus said looking down at his book "oh. Well day after tomorrow is Saturday. We will be able to spend time together then and then Elijah will be here too so Hope can bond with her uncle too".

She hesitated and said "Klaus I need to go to the hospital Saturday morning. Will be back in a few hours".

Klaus looked at her wondering _'is it for the cancer checkup'_ but asked "why?"

Hayley picked up the bedcover, put it on the sofa and said "I have an appointment with an oncologist".

She turned towards the bathroom but then felt a strong pair of hands on her shoulders and he turned her towards him. She asked him "what?"


	14. Chapter 14 Family Secrets part 1

**_A/N: guest thank you for the wonderful reviews. td your review is not long. I gather that a lot of people are not happy with Caroline being in the same house as Hayley is. Klaus has his own reasons for inviting Caroline to his home and they will be addressed in this chapter. There is still a lot of drama coming in their way. And quite a bit of story left. We still have to explore their place in the supernatural world. lol. I hope I will be able to keep it interesting and entertaining till the end. hope I will put that in the part where Hayley will tell Klaus about those five years. _**

**_I hope you enjoy this chapter too. It is long with nothing much really happening in it but this was a must chapter to reveal some of the hidden secrets and the reason why they were hidden from the characters of this story. _**

**_Synopsis: Some people from Klaus's family find out the secrets he had been keeping from them. Hayley tells Klaus about her disease and is surprised by his reaction. _**

* * *

><p>Hayley looked at his face which was full of concern and said "I have breast cancer and I am due for my third chemo. I have to find a new doctor as this is a new city for me."<p>

Klaus felt his heart race but he asked her to keep up the appearance "when were you planning on telling me?"

Hayley said carelessly "it is not your concern".

Klaus looked at her as if she had lost her mind and said "what!"

Hayley realized that she had managed to annoy him but the anxiety of her upcoming appointment just made her lose her temper and she said loudly "you wanted to be in Hope's life Mr Mikaelson and you are in it now but my personal life is not your concern".

Klaus was quiet for a second looking at her in shock and then he said angrily but in a quieter tone "it is _Klaus_ first of all and _secondly_ yes it is my concern Hayley. You are _my wife and your life is my business". _

Hayley felt her heart skip a beat and an unknown fear came in her heart. She could feel his fingers tightening on her shoulders and she suddenly felt really scared. Before she could stop herself the words were out of her mouth "please Klaus" looking at his arm.

He suddenly noticed the terror that had come on her face and that just made his stomach drop several inches. He let her shoulders go and stepped back looking at her in shock; his complexions suddenly gone pale. Deep in his heart he knew at once that the shock he was feeling was not the shock about her cancer but because of the reason that terror came on her face.

Hayley looked at the shocked expressions and felt guilty but before she could say something he asked in a whisper "do you think I can still hurt you?"

She immediately said "no" but she knew in her heart that damage was already done. The look of disappointment on his face just broke her heart.

Klaus ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and asked "when is your appointment?"

She asked "why?"

Klaus said trying to keep his voice calm "because I want to go with you".

Haley at once said "no".

Klaus said angrily "Hayley!".

She turned, walked to the bathroom without saying anything and closed the door on him while he sighed in frustration.

Hayley stood in front of mirror for a few minutes thinking about her reaction and wondered _'what caused that? Wasn't she getting comfortable with him? Starting to trust him?' _She brushed her teeth, splashed water on her face, changed her clothes and got out after realizing that she couldn't stay in the bathroom the whole night.

Klaus was lying on the bed thinking about her reaction with this pit in his stomach when the bathroom door opened and she came out in her night dress. He said to her firmly "Hayley tell me where and when your appointment is. I have means of finding out if you dont tell me but I would prefer if you tell me yourself".

She looked at his adamant face and realized that he will be true to his worlds so she said reluctantly "11 am at Madisons".

She then added "I specially took the appointment on Saturday so you can keep Hope Klaus. Please don't make matters difficult for me. I don't want you or Hope there".

Klaus said in a final tone "well I am coming so is Hope".

He paused for a second and then said "I am glad that you are having your treatment. I dont know how to express how sorry I am that you had to go through all of this alone. Why didnt you tell Elijah about it? Third chemo means that you have had this for a while".

Hayley said "yes, I found out it in January when you came to take over after Mikael's death".

He hesitated and then asked "do you want to talk about it?"

Hayley looked at him and saw that the shadows of her earlier act were still on his face but he was making an effort to connect to her so she said casually "it was in my right breast. 1 inch long. They did the lumpectomy at the end of January. My first chemo was at the start of March and then there was the second one in April and now I am due to have my third. Jim Ackles, my oncologist in Mystic Falls…" she paused for a second and then continued "you have met him in Dolches a long time ago". When Klaus nodded she continued "he said that I will need only four and then there is radiation".

When he was quiet she continued "he helped me a lot. I was his mother's care taker when she was in the final stages of cancer and we got to know each other really well. So when I got cancer he helped me. I needed money for my treatment and he loaned it to me which I paid him back later from my salary."

Klaus felt his heart sink further as he recalled himself seeing a 10,000 figure on the paper on his first meeting with Ackles and his assumption that she was applying for the job.

Hayley looked at the rise and the fall of colors on his face and hastily said "no, you are wrong. _Not know in that way." _

He looked at her in confusion and then almost smiled as he realized what she was saying. He said "no, I was thinking of something else".

He paused for a second and then said seriously "Hayley I am so sorry for what you had to go through and all alone. I promise that I will be with you all the way."

Hayley smiled and said "thanks. I am just happy that you are there for Hope this time".

She looked at his face and said after slight hesitation "I am sorry about earlier. I just want you to know that I am not scare of you but sometimes I cannot help what I feel. I dont want to feel this way because I dont think you will hurt me".

Klaus looked at her face and even though he could see sincerity on her face but it didnt help the depression he was feeling right now. Seeing the look of desperation on her face he realized that she really wants him to feel better so he nodded his head and slid under the duvet, turned toward Hope and closed this eyes.

Soon he went to sleep leaving her awake thinking about her impending appointment and the slight step back in their developing relationship.

Next morning when she woke up Klaus was gone. She felt really guilty about last night but dragged herself from out of the bed. After taking a quick shower and changing she went to make coffee for herself. After half an hour Hope woke up and then her day got busy with her. Giving her bath, breakfast and playing with her. Around noon she got Hope busy her toys while she cleared Hope's room, changed the bed sheet for Elijah and then prepared dinner for the night before taking Hope to the park.

Klaus had a busy morning at the station interrogating a perp caught in a robbery and then he and Alexis had to run to the court to give a testimony. After leaving the court room, as they were walking towards his car he spotted a man looking at him from a distance. He stared at him and tried to recall where he had seen him before but he couldn't remember. At the station he started to write the notes about the case he and Alexis had wrapped up. The busy schedule kept his mind off of Hayley and her illness but as soon as he would sit on his chair not doing anything his mind would go to Hayley and at last he opened the web page to find details about the chemo. Even though he knew some of the details but reading the article in depth just made a drop in his stomach. He was lost in reading the article when someone touched his shoulder. He looked in the direction and saw Alexis asking him "hey partner, what are you thinking? Have been calling you for the past two minutes".

She paused just for a second and then continued "I was thinking about the case we testified in the court today. Do you think they will win?"

Klaus sighed and said "that was the best we could do. It is up to the prosecutor now".

She looked at him and asked "you look tired. Everything okay at home?"

Klaus said "yes" and closed the web page.

By the time he came home, it was around 7:00. As he entered the living room he knew at once that she and Hope were not in the apartment.

Thinking that they must be at the park he took a shower that they were at the park, changed his clothes and switched on the TV after lying down on the sofa. The TV was on but he was thinking about her and his relationship wondering if she will ever feel safe with him or not.

He smiled as the door opened half an hour later and he heard Hope's excited voice "daddy said he will buy me new toys".

Hayley smiled at Hope and said "but you already have a doll Hope. You don't need a new toy". Klaus switched the TV off and looked toward them as they entered the living room.

He said "who says she cannot have more then one doll?!"

Hope squealed excitedly, ran to him and jumped on him ignoring Hayley's "Hope."

Klaus felt so overwhelmed by Hope's lack of formality towards him that his and Hayley's set back felt more prominent to him. He put Hope on her stomach and said "mommy and daddy have to go hospital tomorrow but after that I will take you to a toy store and you can get whatever you want".

As Hayley walked to him causing he looked at him. She noticed signs of last night setback in his eyes and felt guilt again. She asked "when did you come?"

Klaus said "an hour ago. When did …" his sentence got cut short by his cell ringing. He groaned and said to himself _'not a case hopefully'_.

He put the cell on his ear and said "Klaus Mikaelson" and then lifted Hope from his torso and put her on the carpet and sat up as he heard his mother's sharp voice "Niklaus Mikealson tell me Caroline is not telling the truth. Tell me you didnt marry that girl!"

Klaus looked at Hayley and then got up and went to his room.

Hayley wondered_ 'what was that about?'_ and then answered herself "must be work".

She said to Hope "lets go take a shower and then we can have dinner with daddy".

Klaus said "mother yes I have married Hayley. She…" but Esther cut him off again "Niklaus Mikaelson, what have you done? You know how much I hate that girl. First you broke up your engagement with Caroline and now you have married that girl. It must have been her that forced you to do that".

Klaus said "mother, Hayley didnt force me on anything. Caroline and I were having issue…"

Esther cut him off again and said "what issues? Niklaus. Every couple has issues. That does not mean that you break up an established relationship and move on to a new relationship with any riffraff. I hear she has a daughter. Are you sure she is not Mikael's daughter? I want to have a blood test done to see if she is Mikael's daughter or not".

Klaus sighed, controlled his anger and said "no mother she is not father's…" he paused as the door opened and Hayley stepped in.

Hayley looked at him and saw frustration on his face. She said "oh I thought you would be done. I was going to ask you to come for dinner" and retreated.

Klaus looked at the door closing at the same time heard Esther saying "was that her?"

Klaus said as the door closed "yes and as for Hope, she is not father's. She is mine. I have adopted her so she is mine. I don't care who her biological father is but I am sure it is not father. I don't believe Hayley ever had an affair with father".

Esther said "she will never be accepted in this family Niklaus and neither will her daughter be."

Klaus said "if I have taken responsibility of Hope and Hayley then I can make sure that she gets accepted in my family. Hope is your granddaughter and Hayley is your daughter in law now. I want you to give them a chance for my sake.".

Esther said with contempt "_that tramp will never be my daughter in law and her daughter will never be my granddaughter Niklaus_" and then cut him.

Klaus sighed and put the cell in his picket. He then left the room and went to the kitchen where Hope was sitting on the dinner table with the food set on the table.

Hayley noticed he was mostly quiet through the dinner. Even though he was chatting with Hope, she could see tension on his face. She wondered _'is it work? who was on the phone? is it about last night?' _

Klaus caught her looking at him a couple of time with curiosity and apprehension on her face so he said "it is work. We testified in the court today and the prosecutor wanted to talk about it".

She nodded and continued eating.

After dinner she cleaned up with Klaus help. She could feel a distance between them but even then his presence in that small kitchen while Hope sitting on the table playing with her doll just made her really relaxed. After they had cleaned up, they went to their room. Hayley changed Hope whereas Klaus read her a book as she settled down. He kept glancing at Hayley as she moved around in the room picking up things lost in thoughts and finally going to change. As she got under the cover Klaus asked her "are you nervous?" and it hit Hayley that he might be thinking about the caner too and questioning why he had gotten himself in this situation.

She then told herself "it is all for Hope so whatever he thinks does not matter to me."

Hayley looked at him, smiled and said "a bit. It happens every time I have a checkup. I am always scared that they might find something else."

Klaus said "I want to be with you during your checkup".

Hayley said desperately "please no. I dont want to. I want you to be with Hope. I am not ready for it Klaus. You said you will give me space and time. Believe me I appreciate that but I am not ready for this right now".

Klaus looked at her face and then his eyes went involuntary to her right breast. He then looked at Hayley and said "okay but I am holding onto the hope that you will take that plunge sooner then you think Hayley because with this chemo coming in, you will need help and I want to be there for you but I want to be there with your consent. Keep in mind Hayley that even if you dont give me consent I will be there but I would prefer it if you let me in willingly."

Hayley looked at his face and saw nothing but sincerity and felt like crying remembering all the times when she felt alone even though Amy was with her all the time. She knew in her gut that things will be different this time. She smiled and said "thanks and yes I understand what you are saying but not for tomorrow's appointment. I want someone to be with Hope while I am in for the checkup.".

They both went to sleep lost in their own thoughts; Klaus about his mother and Hayley about what he had just told her.

Next morning after breakfast she changed Hope, gave her to Klaus and went to take a shower. During the shower she started to feel nervous about her checkup. She put on a light pink shirt and jeans and came out. She was drying her hair when Klaus came in the room with Hope. Hope sat on the bed whereas Klaus said " I will be ready in ten minutes".

Hayley was brushing her hair when he came out of the bathroom dressed in his casual jeans and shirt. She looked at Klaus as he picked up his keys from the bedside table and said "you can still change your mind you know".

Klaus said with a smile "no and you should know that when I decide on something I stick with it. Whenever you are ready tell me."

Hayley looked at his determined face and knew that he was not just talking about going to her appointment but about their situation too. The certainty that he will be there for her whenever she needs him just intensified and she felt really warm.

She said "I am ready, lets go."

Even thought the drive to the hospital was a quiet one she felt relaxed that he was there for her.

They were led to the office of a Dr Stacy Dole office who was a young doctor in her mid thirties. After getting some introduction she said to Hayley "I want to examine you. I have received the files from Dr Jill Ackles but I still want to see for myself. You can change into the gown behind that curtain."

Hayley stood up and went behind the curtain after her and Klaus's eyes met for a second.

A few minutes later Dr Dole walked towards the curtain and said "are you ready?" She turned towards Klaus and said "do you want to come?"

Klaus looked at Hope playing with her doll and said "I cannot. She will be all alone".

Dr Dole smiled and went behind the curtain. After a few minutes he heard the doctor say "it seems smooth. I don't feel anything Hayley except fro this scar tissue. Not that I was expecting anything but it is always good to check".

She then checked her other breast while Hayley held her breath and prayed that she does not find anything. After a few second she said "okay good you can dress up".

She sat up and pulled the gown over her chest.

She changed into her shirt and walked out.

As she settled Dr Dole said "so your chemo, you can have it anytime now".

Klaus said "the sooner we can do".

Hayley said "can we do it weekend following 20th?"

Klaus said "that is two weeks from today".

When she didn't say anything he looked towards the doctor and said "when is the earliest she can have it done? any time after 5 pm"

Dr Dole looked down at her calendar and said "Friday 7pm".

Klaus said "okay" whereas Hayley said "that is too soon. That is six days from today".

Klaus said "that is fine. Lets go Hayley".

As they walked out Hayley said "Klaus I cannot on Friday. I dont have money. I will not get the money…" but stopped talking as he stopped walking and looked at her angrily.

He stepped towards her and said angrily "you think you are going to be paying with _your money_".

Hayley said trying to keep her voice calm "yes, but I have no insurance so I needed more".

Klaus said angrily "Hayley !" and continued walking towards the main door.

Hayley followed him and asked in confusion "what is it? why are you angry?"

Klaus turned towards her and asked angrily "why did you marry me Hayley if you dont want me in your life?"

Hayley looked at Hope holding Klaus's hand and said calmly "for Hope".

Klaus didn't say anything for a few seconds and then said deliberately slowly "yes I know but as long as we are married you and I are in this together. And as my wife you are entitled to my money…."

Hayley cut him off by saying "I will not take _your family_ money Klaus. What Mikael did, has not helped me Klaus. In fact because of that I will never be able to face your mother".

Klaus said "I am talking about the money I earn Hayley. I can support my family in that income and if need be I will take money from _my_ share of the property not anyone's else. Also you need to remember that you have one million dollar in your name too not that I want you to use that money on your treatment."

Hayley said "I don't want that money".

Klaus sighed and looked around and said "can we talk about it somewhere else? I promised Hope that I will take her to the store".

Hayley could see Klaus distracted during the toy shopping. She caught him looking at her many times but she didnt know what to say so she didnt.

During the shopping he got a call from Marcel so he stepped aside as Hayley and Hope continued to look at the dolls.

Klaus said to Marcel "I don't know who it was. I just saw him in the court yesterday and there was something about him that made me think he was one of you. Is it possible for me to sense them?"

He looked at Hope who had picked up a doll from the aisle but then he looked at Hayley who took the doll from her hand and after looking at it she put it back and pulled Hope towards another doll but Hope kept on glancing at the first doll.

Hayley looked towards him as he said "no Cami does not know yet. I dont think she has any idea about what is going on Marcel. I wanted to talk to you about your man whom I tackled in Rousseau's the other night. Will he keep his mouth shut?" while picking up the doll she had taken from Hope and giving it to her.

Hayley looked at the doll and shook her head and said softly "no this is too expensive. She does not need expensive toys".

Klaus stared at her in surprise and then suddenly a smile appeared on his lips and he said looking at Hayley "Marcel, I am out somewhere but I want you to know that if he puts my life in jeopardy then it will not be good for him" causing Hayley's heart to jump into her throat.

He put the cell in his pocket and said to Hayley "she likes it so why not?"

Hayley looked at Klaus and said "Klaus please dont spoil her".

He smiled and said "a toy will not spoil her". He gave Hope the doll and felt his heart melt as she squealed with happiness.

By the time they left the shop Hope was grinning from ear to ear and she had a couple of toys in the shopping bag.

They went home after the shopping with a very happy Hope. Klaus couldnt help but notice that Hayley was really looking happy too.

The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. He felt like talking to her about her cancer many times but her demeanor was not encouraging him so he let it go.

He gave her company in the kitchen as she prepared dinner for the evening while Hope played with her new toys. Klaus suddenly realized that he was feeling very happy and relaxed even though his and Hayley's life was not perfect. "_But he didnt want perfect" _he told himself. "_He wanted peaceful and that is what he was having at that precise moment, contentment and peace_."

Hayley felt a strong wave of nausea hit her and wondered _'where did this come from? She had been doing so great for the past two weeks and of all the days today'_. She cursed the nausea while at the same time she could feel his eyes at the back of her neck and that was just making her very very nervous. She realized that ever since Caroline had gone back this was the first time she was feeling nervous in his presence. '_Perhaps because of him finding out about her cancer'_ she wondered. She also wondered_ 'why has he not talked to her about her cancer yet? Is he feeling pity for her or regretting his decision of marrying her? Or giving her the space?'_

For some reason she knew it was either pity or giving her space and that just made her confused and relax at the same time.

She startled as he said "I am leaving. I have some business to attend before I got get Elijah. He said that he will be done around 7:30 pm from his meeting. We will be home by 8. Then we can go out for dinner if you want or stay in".

Hayley turned to him and said "no, lets stay in. Hope is tired from today's activities and I want Elijah and her to spend some time together in a familiar environment" as she controlled the nausea.

Klaus nodded and said "okay I am off."

He left after giving Hope a kiss as she jumped at him and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck.

As soon as the door closed, she darted to the bathroom and threw up a little bit. Later she set the table, gave a final inspection to Hope's room, made sure there was nothing in that room to make Elijah suspicious of her ever staying in that room. She then gave something to Hope to eat so that she does not create fuss during dinner. After that she changed her into a nice blue dress and changed her clothes too. She sat at the bed holding her head wondering _'what ticked his nausea off?'_

She looked at Hope playing with her new toys and the smile on her face just made Hayley feel warm towards Klaus. She suddenly remembered what he had told her last night and she felt like giving him what he wanted.

She looked towards the door as she head it open and Hope getting up excitedly and running towards it.

Klaus briefed Elijah about Hope during the drive to his apartment. When he was done telling him about Hope Elijah asked "now tell me why did you get married to her Niklaus?"

Klaus looked at him for a second and then said "is it hard to believe that I really like her?"

Elijah stared at him for a few seconds and then said "alright. But you have to admit it looks suspicious."

Klaus said firmly "I don't care if it looks suspicious or not. She is my wife now. My family has to accept her and Hope is my daughter if they want me in their lives. I expect you at least to open your arms to them".

Elijah looked at his set face and said "of course I will. But I have to tell you that I have not been able to tell mother about your marriage yet".

Klaus said "don't worry she knows".

Elijah asked "how?"

By the time Klaus was done telling him about Caroline's visit and Esther's call, Elijah was sure that Klaus has lost his mind.

He asked incredulously "you thought bringing Caroline to your home _after you just got married and in those circumstances_ was a good idea?!"

Klaus said "yes because she and I have a past that we cannot just forget. Sooner Hayley and Caroline start to understand each other's position in_ my_ life, better it will be for both of them. And from what I saw it went great. Caroline is hurting right now but she understands that _if we are not happy right now then how can we be happy later in our lives_. During this visit of hers Caroline saw that I am moving on with my life so she will too. I think she and Hayley can get along really well".

Elijah said "Niklaus I know you and Caroline loved each other. In fact I think she still loves you and same can be said about you. I dont know why you got married to Hayley but I know you didn't marry her because you love her. I will tell you one thing for sure that no woman in Caroline's shoes will be okay with all of this. I am surprised that Caroline didnt create a drama".

Klaus suddenly had a vivid memory of that kiss disclosure dialogue with Caroline and wondered _'was it a drama?"_

But then shook his head and said unlocking his apartment "so I have been thinking about the house offer you said. I might consider it. You are okay with it right?"

Elijah said "sure" and entered in his apartment. The first thing he noticed was a child chattering and he smiled as Hope came running towards the door but stopped in her track as she saw Elijah. She looked at Klaus and then grabbed her mother's legs who had walked to them too.

Even though she was feeling really nervous and nauseous, as the opened the door to reveal Elijah with Klaus, she smiled at him. Klaus bend down and picked up Hope and said Hope "Elijah you remember Hope right?"

As Elijah watched her with a smile on his lips Hope snuggled closer to Klaus.

He said "hello Hope, remember me".

Hope shook his head so Klaus said "Hope this is my brother and your uncle Elijah. Do you want to call him uncle?"

She looked at Klaus and then at Elijah and then Hayley who smiled at him. Hope put her hand in her mouth and shyly nodded her head. Klaus looked at Hayley as she stepped forwards and said "Elijah you know Hayley but now you are meeting the my wife Hayley Mikaelson."

Hayley didn't know what to say but she relaxed when Elijah said with a smile "hello Hayley. welcome to Mikaelson family".

Hayley smiled at him and said spontaneously "Mr Mikaelson" causing a rich laughter escape his throat making her flustered and Klaus smile but at the same time he noticed that she was looking very pale and he wondered if she is feeling sick.

Elijah said with a smile "you dont get to call me that any more Hayley. I am not your boss anymore. I think I have earned the right to be called a brother and by my name".

Klaus smiled at her and said "Elijah you can set you stuff in the Hope's room. Freshen up and then we can have dinner together".

As Elijah went to the room, Klaus looked at Hayley and asked "hey are you feeling okay?"

Hayley shook her head and then almost ran to their room. He immediately followed her still carrying Hope just in time to see her close the bathroom door behind her. He sat Hope on the bed and looked towards the bathroom door anxiously. When the door opened a couple of minutes later he asked "how long have you been feeling this way?"

Hayley stepped aside and walked out of the bathroom and said "something triggered my nausea in the afternoon but I am better now".

Klaus looked at her with concern and said "why don't you rest?"

Hayley said pushing the hair out of her eyes "no, I am fine. I have been through worse. It is just mild. Elijah is visiting for the first time. I want us to have a dinner together".

Klaus said "don't worry about Elijah. I will make an excuse".

She said shaking her head "no, let go. He must be waiting for us".

She held Hope's hand and walked towards the door.

She went to the kitchen and was taking out drinks from the fridge when Klaus took them from her hand and said "go and sit, I will do that".

Hayley said in a tired voice "thanks but I don't want to sit".

Klaus said with smile "then just stand there".

Before Hayley could say anything they both heard Elijah cough.

Elijah walked into the kitchen and saw them standing close to each other. He cleared his throat. and smiled as Hayley hastily stepped back.

Klaus put the drinks on the table as Hayley put the food in the dishes and laid the table. She settled down Hope next to her and everyone settled down for dinner. Dinner was a very pleasant affair with small chit chat. Klaus could see from her pale complexion that she was not feeling well but he felt helpless at her stubbornness to be at the dining table right now. At last he said as he saw Hope's eyes drooping he said to Hayley "Hayley Hope is sleeping. It is really late for her."

ELijah looked at Hope who had her head on the dinning chair back and her eyes were almost closing.

Hayley looked at him with gratitude and said to Elijah "Elijah if you dont mind. I will put her to bed and then come back."

Elijah said "oh dont worry. We have full day tomorrow. Why dont you turn yourself in too? We will be getting up too in no time."

Hayley took a sigh of relief and got up. She was about to carry Hope when Klaus brushed her aside gently and scooped Hope up and carried her to their bedroom.

As soon as she closed the door she dashed to the bathroom and threw everything she had just eaten. She washed her face and looked at Klaus standing at the door. She smiled and said "i am okay".

Klaus smirked and said "sure I can see that. You rest. I will be in in a few minute".

Hayley didn't know when she went to sleep and didnt know that he stood near her side of the bed and stared at him for a very long time before turning himself in too.

Next day when he got up he saw Hope sitting next to Hayley, touching her face. He gently nudged her and whispered "hey, mommy is tired. Lets go out".

Hope looked at Hayley and then went to his arms. He picked her up, took her to the bathroom, looked around and then put tooth paste on her small tooth brush and gave it to her. Hope started brushing his teeth while he did his. After that he washed his face and then gingerly washed hers and then led her out of the bathroom. He suddenly realized that he was feeling very sentimental after doing those activities with Hope and he thought in regret '_how much he has missed_.' As he entered the living room, he saw Elijah sitting on the sofa watching TV.

He smiled and said "good morning. Come in the kitchen".

Elijah looked at Hope and wondered _'what is the pull he always feel towards this child?'_

He followed Klaus to the kitchen and asked "where is Hayley?"

Klaus took out the frying pan from the cabinet and said "she is sleeping in. She couldn't sleep last night and had just gotten to bed an hour ago".

Elijah took a seat on the kitchen table and asked "oh okay."

He asked after a few moments "so tell me?"

Klaus turned towards him, smiled and said "well short story. I fell in love with her life and her child. She came in my life at a perfect time. Caroline and I were having a lot of problems. I was thinking of getting out of it and then I met Hayley and …." He paused for a moment and then continued "and her". Elijah followed his gaze to Hope playing in the living room and said "that cannot be it Niklaus".

Klaus was looking towards Hope when Elijah said "Niklaus, tell me you didn't marry her just to provide that child a home and to make up for what mother did to her".

Klaus put the toasts in the toaster and then turned towards Elijah and asked leaning against the kitchen counter "what do you mean? about her firing her?!"

Elijah said carelessly "yes, when I found out I was so disappointed at mother but please tell me you didnt marry a woman with a child to make up for mother getting her fired and not giving her the share in our property".

Klaus looked at him in confusion and said incredulously "_getting her fired?! She fired _her Elijah._"_

Elijah said impatiently "not from our firm but from … " he stopped talking as he realized that Klaus had no idea from the confusion on his face

Klaus looked at him and asked "what?"

Elijah said "nothing".

Klaus asked sternly "Elijah tell me".

Elijah said with a sigh "I found out that she got a job in a software company where mother went and got her fired on the third day of her job telling her boss that she embezzled from our company."

He paused for a second and then said "I had no idea that you didn't know".

Klaus stared at him wondering what else she has not told him as he recalled what Caroline had told him about being rude to Hayley.

He felt his heart sink at the thought of her going through all of this while on top of being sick. With heavy heart he poured milk in a cup and place the toasted bread on the plate and said "Hope come here. You need to drink your milk."

Elijah smiled as he saw Hope walking to the kitchen with her doll as Klaus set her on the dinning chair and placed the glass of milk in front of her. She turned towards Klaus and asked him "daddy, when is mommy getting up?"

Klaus bend near her and said "Hope mommy is tired so she will sleep a little longer today".

Whatever Elijah was about to say got lost as he saw both of them eye to eye level talking to each other.

He looked at Klaus's face curiously when Hope asked him in a timid voice "is she sick again?"

Klaus couldn't help but feel sorry for Hope. He moved the wild strange of hair to the back of her ear and said "yes but she will get better. Why don't you finish you milk and go play with your doll. May be afterwards we can go to the park".

Hope jumped up on her seat excitedly making Elijah smile but he noticed Klaus was looking a bit down as he put jam on the toasts and gave it to her. Hope gulped her milk down, ate her sandwich while Elijah and Klaus drank their coffee quietly. After that she ran out of the kitchen.

Elijah stood there looking at Klaus for a moment and then asked "what was that about?"

Klaus looked up and said "nothing the weather is good so I thought…" but by now Elijah was sure he was hiding something from him so he said in a stern voice "Niklaus!"

Klaus sighed and said reluctantly "Hayley is sick".

Elijah said "yes that I gathered. What is wrong with her?"

Klaus said "she has breast cancer".

Elijah stared at him for a few moments without saying something and then said in an alarming voice "what?"

Klaus said "yes she had it for the past four months. Now can we talk about something else. She does not want to tell anyone about it. You make sure you don't tell mother or anyone about it or for that matter Caroline".

He turned towards the coffee pot and poured himself and Elijah coffee. He put the coffee cup in front of Elijah and said "so what is happening back home?"

Elijah looked at Klaus wondering _'if she had cancer then why did he marry her?' _

He said "no, you tell me first how long have you known".

Klaus looked toward the door and said "I knew it before the marriage."

Elijah said "what? and you still married her?"

Klaus suddenly said a bit sternly "her having cancer does not mean that she should be punished for it. I like her and I am starting to love that child so it does not make a difference to me. The only things that we should be concern about is Hope and Hayley herself. She is going through chemo and the treatment. Hope is the one who needs security in her life and I will provide both of them that security and the stability that they need."

Elijah looked at Klaus's distressed but determined face and didnt say anything.

Klaus said to him "now like I said Hayley does not want anyone to know about the cancer yet. So lets keep a lid on it until she is ready or I tell her that you know."

Elijah said "okay. but …"

He stopped talking when Klaus cut him off by saying "how about we go out and take Hope to a park or something."

Elijah said "sure and Hayley?"

Klaus said "let her sleep. When she gets up we can all go out together after that."

After slight hesitation, he changed Hope into a pair of jeans and shirt and then put on her shoes and headed to the park with Elijah. He observed Elijah bonding with Hope and felt somewhat at peace. An hour later when they got home, Hayley was up and was drinking coffee. As she saw them she said "I am sorry Elijah. I dont know what happened last night. I just couldn't keep anything down".

Elijah smiled and said hoping his voice does not give away anything while at the same time looked at Klaus lost in thoughts "that is fine. It happens. We have the whole day ahead of us to bond over. Hope and we already went to the park and we had a great time. Right Hope?"

He looked at Hope at the end of the sentence. He then continued "I have to say Hope is really well mannered child. I had an idea that she would be but it is still a pleasant surprise. Wait till mother and others meet her. They will fall in love with her".

He noticed the smile slip from her lips just for a second.

He looked at Klaus who was looking at her. Hayley's eyes met Klaus and at once knew something was wrong, she then looked at Elijah and became sure. She sighed and said "he told you?"

Elijah looked at her and said authoritatively "yes and I am glad he did. You are family and family members need to know if another family member has some problem".

Hayley sighed and said "I don't want Mrs Lockwood to find out".

She could feel Klaus's eyes boring into her face but she didn't look at him and went towards the cooking range. Elijah said "I wish you had told us this before Hayley. All the time you have been working for us and you never told us".

Hayley smiled and said "people have illnesses Elijah and that does not stop their lives".

She looked at Hope and asked "have you had your milk?"

Hope said "yes daddy gave me".

Elijah said "how about we all go out today. Brunch from me. Niklaus have you taken Hayley to the French Quarter?"

Klaus said "no, not yet" with sinking heart.

Elijah got up and said "then it is settled, lets go there and I can get to meet Cami too".

Klaus laughed and said "Cami and you. Don't tell me! Since when?"

He looked at Hayley and said "why dont you get Hope ready?"

Hayley held Hope's hand and took her to her room. She took out her clothes and took them to Klaus and Hayley's room.

Hayley was changing Hope's clothes thinking of why Klaus had told Elijah when she heard the door close behind her. She turned around to confront him but stopped as she saw his expressions. She asked him "what?"

Klaus said "why didn't you tell me that my mother got you fired from your other job? and while we are on that point why didn't you tell me what happened with Caroline".

Hayley turned away from her and said to Hope "Hope why don't you go out and play with uncle Elijah. Mommy wants to talk to daddy about something".

She kissed her and put her on the floor. Hope stared at both of them and then went out of the room as Klaus opened the door for her.

She turned towards her and said "I didn't tell you because there was no point in telling you about that. You couldn't have done anything about it. Your mother hates me. Any one in her shoes will do that. She thinks that I had an affair with Mikael. Now that you know that you should know that I said yes to you two days after she got me fired me from my other job."

She saw surprise on his face but he recovered and said sarcastically "so I have her to thank for making you agree to my offer?"

Hayley said while going to the walking closet, taking of her clothes from the hanger "well I was getting desperate. I was unable to find a new job and my chemo was coming up and I knew that day that Mrs Lockwood wouldn't let me have any job in that town. I needed job to continue my treatment. I couldnt survive without treatment. And after me what would have happened to Hope. I said yes so that if things don't turned out the way I want them to then she at least has you as a back up and I can see that my decision was right."

Klaus felt the pit in the stomach growing bigger but before he could say anything she turned to him and said "the only thing I had not considered was that I will be able to tell you about my cancer so early in our relationship and of course all you are doing right now. Original plan was to get job, pray that my loan gets approved."

She noticed the rise and fall of the different shades of gray on his face and with pursed lips turned to go to bathroom when he said sharply "and Caroline".

She said "I don't know what happened. She saw me in Macy's and apparently you had just broken up with her and she was venting out when she got suspicious and started asking me if I had anything to do with it. So I told her about the proposal and that I have not agreed." She stopped talking so Klaus asked "and?"

Hayley picked up Hope's clothes saying without looking at him "she slapped me".

As she turned towards the bathroom again Klaus held her arm and said "what?"

Hayley looked at the hold on her arm and said "she slapped me".

Klaus was so shocked to hear that he didn't know when he let go of her arm.

He said "I cannot believe it. That is why she apologized to you?!"

At her confused look he asked in a whisper "she didn't apologize to you?"

Hayley shook her head and said "no, sorry to disappoint you. Any way that is water under the bridge. Now I will go change if we are going out"

She went to the bathroom before he could say anything. When she came out in fifteen minutes, he was still in the room sitting on the bed. He looked at her and walked to her and said "I am so sorry Hayley. Your life has been in a fix because of me".

Hayley looked at him in confusion and said "no, Klaus you didn't do anything in all of this".

Klaus stared at her thinking _'if only she knew why Mikael left her so much money which cause all of that reaction from his mother.'_ but he didn't say anything.

He sighed and said "I promise I will make up for all of this by providing Hope everything she deserves including a healthy mother."

Hayley smiled and said "yes, that is all I want from you for Hope and a promise you will not tell anyone else about my cancer. When I told you that you cannot tell anyone then why did you tell Elijah?"

Klaus said "because he is my brother and he got suspicious. I thought someone besides me should know about that too. I want to tell you that I told him that I knew about the cancer before we got married. It just didnt sit well with me to tell him that I found out a day ago. I am curious" as he picked up his wallet from the side table and then continued "why dont you want anyone to know about your cancer? I know it is personal but still I am curious."

Hayley said "because I dont want to see the look you have been giving me ever since you have found out about my cancer."

She was walking towards the bedroom door but stopped when Klaus said "what look?"

Hayley said bitterly "pitty."

Klaus said "I don't pity you Hayley. I admire you. I admire your bravery. If I ever pitied you it was what I found out you were the one I put through hell five years ago and then about Hope and when I thought what you must have gone through during that time. I have never pitied you for your cancer."

She turned towards him and stared into his blue eyes which were nothing but sincere. She said "don't pity me for that too. I am happy with my life. That chapter of my life is closed now. We are on the way to writing a new chapter in our lives."

Klaus nodded and smiled.

The ride to French quarter was rather a quiet one with Hope talking to Hayley and occasionally answering Elijah's questions whereas Klaus was wondering what was he going to do if some vampire sees him and says something but then he thought 'aren't the vampire supposed to come out at night' so he felt some relief.

They were hardly in French Quarter streets for thirty minutes when a man approached Klaus. Klaus got tense as he recognized the man as Marcel's gang. He got ready for the attack and moved a bit so that he was in front of Hope. Hayley looked at him and suddenly the image from the bank came into her mind and she felt her heart skip a beat. She tightened her hand hold on Hope's arm making her screech "mommy you are hurting me".

Klaus glanced at Hayley and shook his head slight which didnt go unnoticed by Elijah.

He looked at all of this with confusion and then looked at the man approaching them. The man approaching them said to Klaus "were…." but Klaus cut him off by saying "Diego right?"

When Diego nodded his head, Klaus turned to Elijah and said "Elijah, Diego, a friend of a friend. He just wanted to make sure we are having fun right Diego?"

Diego looked at him and then at Elijah and then his gaze went to Hope peeking from behind Klaus. He nodded and said "I will tell _Marcel that you visited French Quarter."_

Klaus smirked and said "do tell".

The rest of the day went smoothly. Klaus tired to get out of French Quarter a couple of times but Elijah insisted that he wanted to show Hayley around and being in New Orleans for so many years, he knew all the details about it. Klaus kept glancing at her and couldn't help but notice that Hayley was very comfortable with Elijah. The way she was laughing and talking at his comments. He even carried Hope for a while. Klaus looked at Hope and Elijah and felt a stab of jealousy in his stomach as it hit him that Hope had warmed up to Elijah as quickly as she had warmed up to him. He chided himself "why wouldn't she be? Elijah is funny and friendly".

Hayley suddenly realized that he had been quiet for a while. She looked at him but he was looking towards a bar. She wondered _'what was he thinking and who was that man from whom he was sheltering Hope?'._

He suddenly felt something that made him turn around and he caught her looking at him. He smiled and looked over her shoulder. Hayley whose knees suddenly had gone weak at that smile turned around and saw a young blonde coming towards them.

Klaus smiled and hugged Cami surprising Hayley. He let Cami go almost at once and turned to Hayley and impulsively held her hand taking her by surprise again and said "Cami, meet Hayley my wife and this is Hope our daughter".

Hayley saw the smile slip from her face just for a second and heard her say "what? really? When? Oh my god."

Hayley felt him squeeze her hand and smiled. Cami recovered and said "this is great. You and I need to spend time together. Klaus, I am impressed. what happened to …." but she stopped talking as she realized what she was going to say.

Elijah said hoping to help the awkward silence "So Cami how is the business going?"

Cami said "Elijah, you just forgot this city".

Elijah laughed and said "I need to take you out of this city to show you Mystic Falls".

Klaus looked around and realized that it was getting late and sun was setting in, he realized that vampers will be out soon so he said "Elijah I think we should go. It is getting late and Hope needs to go to bed".

Elijah looked at him curiously and then nodded.

As he passed by a cemetery Hayley said "oh god this is beautiful."

Elijah looked towards her and asked "you have not seen this Hayley?"

When she shook her head, he looked towards Klaus and asked "what have you been doing for the past one week? Have you not shown her anything?"

Hayley hastily said as her eyes met Klaus's in the rare view mirror "no he has but we didnt come to this side of the town".

Hayley was walking through the cemetery and stopped as she saw a young woman kneeling near a tomb. She walked to her and said "hey what is your name?"

The woman said "my name is Jane-Ann deveraux. What are you doing here? Dont you know it is not safe to walk in cemeteries at this time of the day."

Hayley said "I just liked this tomb and why is it not… " but she was cut off when she saw a person jumping on Jane-Ann Deveraux from the tomb. She screamed "hey look out" to warn her and instinctively pushed her aside.

Klaus was holding Hope in his arms with her head resting on his shoulder when he heard her voice. He gave Hope to Elijah and ran in the direction where the voice was coming from. When he reached there he saw a man holding a young woman from her neck and lifting her in the air. As he was looking at them he saw Hayley pick up a branch of tree and hit the man on the head. The man turned to her still holding the young woman in his grasp and hissed showing his fangs. Klaus saw Hayley stumble back so he ran to her and said firmly "Go, take Hope tot he car, Go". His voice raised at the end of the sentence.

Hayley didn't need to be told twice so she ran from there. She took Hope from Elijah and said now panicking "there is someone hurting a woman Elijah".

Elijah headed towards that direction whereas Hayley went to her car.

When he reached there he saw the man fly through the air and land on the ground. Klaus's attacker stood up with lightening speed taking Elijah by surprise. Klaus spun around and kicked the man lunging on him with such a speed that took Elijah by surprise again and then before Elijah or Klaus could do anything else the man disappeared out of there. Klaus groaned, turned to the young woman still lying on the ground. He helped Jane-Ann get up and looked at his neck and said "you seem to be okay".

Jane-Ann looked at him and said "thanks. My name is Jane-Ann".

Klaus said "Klaus Mikaelson".

Jane-Ann said "you are the wolf that attacked that vampire the other night in Rouseasu".

Klaus could smell Elijah standing at the listening distance and decided to let the cat out bag he said "yes but I will appreciate if you dont tell anyone".

He turned and left catching Elijah eyes.

Klaus asked "what?"


	15. Chapter 15 Family Secrets part 2

**_A/N td lol yes to all. I am glad you like the last chapter and thanks for lovely comments guest._**

**_I hope you like this one too. Previous two chapters were really slow I mean time span wise. this one will have a time jump. Some more secrets will be revelead. It is pretty long too. I wanted to cut it a little bit then decided to give you some juicy bit lol. Now you have to wait for a few days for next chapter :). I hope you enjoy it. _**

**_Synopsis: Hayley has her chemo and while recuperating from it she makes a life changing decision of her life. Klaus discovers something about Hayley. Klaus meets a vampire in the work place who finds out about his secret. Elijah finds out the family secret. _**

* * *

><p>Elijah came out of trance and said "what was that? How did you…" He was not able to finish his sentence and just continued to stare at Klaus.<p>

Klaus said "Hayley is waiting for us in the car. Let's go, but we need to talk. I need to tell you something important."

When he reached the car, Hayley was sitting with Hope snuggled in her lap.

She asked "what was that Klaus? I saw his teeth."

Klaus said "Nothing. A man was harassing a young woman. It happens a lot in this cemeteries."

After a few quiet moments Elijah said "I am thinking about taking the tomorrow morning flight. Could use one more day to rest".

Klaus looked at him and nodded whereas Hayley felt a strange kind of relief not knowing where it came from and why.

Later that night after Hayley went to sleep, Klaus sneaked out of the bed and went to the living room knowing well that Elijah was waiting for him there. As expected, Elijah was pacing in the living room and as soon as Klaus entered, he asked "tell me what was that? And don't tell me that you are a werewolf and there are vampires in this world."

Klaus smiled and said "Let's go to the kitchen. Right now it's not the right moment for Hayley find out about it."

He put a pot of coffee for them and then turned to Elijah and said "Elijah, I am a werewolf and yes, there are vampires in this world. You just saw two tonight."

Elijah stared at him and all of a sudden started laughing and said "no, no Niklaus. That is the worst practical joke you have ever made."

Klaus poured the coffee for himself and Elijah and said "yes, it does sound crazy but it is true and before you loose it let me tell you that you are a werewolf too but you are untriggered and so are Kol and Rebekah meaning that you are not active wolves right now."

When Elijah didnt say anything continued telling him about everything he had found about his family, werewolves and vampires community in New Orleans. By the time he was done, Elijah's coffee was cold and his eyes were widened with surprise.

Klaus said "I wanted to tell you but then things happened with Caroline who by the way is a vampire and so is Stefan, Damon and Elena don't forget about her. I just recently found out about Caroline through Stefan. That is the main reason why we broke up. It wouldn't have worked out between us. Werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies, a bite from a werewolf and the vampires are dead. That was the problem Caroline and I were having; the one I told you about."

Elijah said after a few moments of silence "I dont believe it".

Klaus smiled and then turned around and took out a knife from the drawer and before Elijah could do anything, klaus cut himself on his exposed arm.

Elijah said "what the hell Niklaus?!" but Klaus just patted it dry with a paper towel and said "it will be healed in a few hours or may be in a few minutes.I don't know. The bullet injury healed in a half an hour so I am guessing this will be quicker".

Elijah asked in surprise "what do you mean bullet injury?"

Klaus said "a couple of days ago when Caroline visited us, There was a bank robbery, but everything went south when one of the robbers start shooting. One of the bullets grazed me, but it healed within half an hour, so I guess it all depends on the type of injury you get."

He smiled and showed his arm to Elijah which had started to heal.

Elijah looked at his arm where a slight mark was still visible and then at Klaus who said "I dont know what to say. Father and Uncle Richard dodged the bullet. Mason and I were not lucky. Hopefully you and others will dodge the bullet too but you and everyone else needs to know so that you dont trigger your gene accidentally or for that matter _intentionally in Kol's case._"

Klaus then looked at the clock on the microwave and said "it is two in the morning. You have to catch a plane and I have to apprehend someone so we should sleep. But Elijah the sooner you accept the facts the easier will your life be. Mason was there for my two transformations and a lot. Soon after, I realized that I had not choice but to accept it, so I did."

He put the cup in the sink and went to his room.

He looked at Hope and Hayley snuggled against each other and smiled. As he laid down on his side of the bed he itched to touch Hayley's hand which was wrapped around Hope and was near his pillow. He laid there staring at the ceiling in the dim light of the room and wondered _'will she move to the other room tomorrow? How is Elijah doing? Will he be able to handle all of this? When should he tell Hayley? Will she be able to handle the truth about him? It is one thing to hide her cancer from him but him being a werewolf is something really really big?'_ He didnt know when he went to sleep thinking about random things.

Next morning when he woke up it was quiet early. Klaus quickly remembered that Elijah was leaving this morning and that he knew about the family secret. He looked at Hayley sleeping next to him with Hope in the middle and thought _'he should tell her before the next full moon. May be after her chemo.'_

He got out of the bed and then quietly went to the bathroom. He took a shower and left the room. Elijah was up in the kitchen making coffee as Klaus entered. He turned towards Klaus and said "so all I, Kol and Rebekah have to do is not kill anyone and we will not turn into wolves".

Klaus said "you are really calm about it. Now tell me how and when should I tell Hayley about it?"

Elijah said firmly "No right now, wait for her to get better. It could be dangerous in her current health condition."

Klaus said remembering all those times during her illness he had witnessed her in the office and later in this house too "she is very strong. You have no idea."

Elijah turned towards him, leaned against the kitchen counter and said "when were you going to tell me about it?"

Klaus poured the coffee for himself in the cup and said "I had full intention of telling you over this weekend but didnt get the chance as Hayley got sick."

Elijah stared at him and said "Niklaus what are you going to do?"

Klaus said "right now drop you to the airport and then go to station. By the way she has chemo next Saturday".

Elijah said "oh. How long will it be for?"

Klaus said "the process is for at least an hour, but according to my research, the afterwards is the most painful part of the whole process. The side effects of chemo are really bad. I have been thinking of visiting Mystic Falls after the next full moon if she feels better. We have to get over that too. I want mother to meet Hope and Hayley and clear the air between all of us".

Elijah said "yes it is a good thought but give it time Niklaus. Let her digest the news and in the mean time you and Hayley can establish your relationship."

Klaus said averting his eyes from Elijah "what do you mean?"

Elijah smiled and said "Niklaus I am not an idiot. It's clear that the only reason you and Hayley got married was Hope. Did you really think I will never find out about her? I am disappointing that you didn't feel that I was worthy of knowing the truth about Hope"

Klaus asked "what truth? I told our mother that she is not our father's child"

Elijah said in confusion "what? no. I mean the fact that you are her biological father."

Klaus looked at him for a moment without saying anything and then asked with exasperation "how did you know?"

Elijah said "Come on, Niklaus. You treat hope like a father and it hasn't been that long since you met her. Also, considering the circumstances under which you and Hayley got married and there is the bond between Hope and you. It rose some questions and then I noticed the dimples and the exact shade of blue in her brown eyes. What happened? Did you have one night stand with her and didn't know about the child until recently?"

Klaus felt his heart getting heavy at the irony that his father thought the same thing. He wondered _'how come his family never thought worst of him?'_ He felt a weird kind of warmth towards Elijah and his father but he also knew that he could never reveal what really happened so he said "something like that. I didn't know she was pregnant and she didn't know where I had gone."

Elijah said "why dont you come clean with this information?"

Klaus said "hmmm I dont know, may be I will."

They both turned around as they heart Hayley ask "hey leaving Elijah?"

Elijah smiled and said "yes, I am. It was a wonderful trip Hayley. I am so glad that we got to spend some time away from the family drama but dont worry everything will be okay."

Hayley smiled and nodded.

After dropping Elijah at the airport, he went to work. Around mid-day when Klaus and Alexis were interrogating a perp, the door opened and a tall man entered the room. Klaus looked at him and slowly stood up. Their eyes met and a smirk appeared on that man's lips at the shocked expression.

He said "my name is Joseph Borden and you are done talking with my client. Mr Hanley, your father hired me."

Klaus stared at him wondering 'what the hell a vampire was doing here?'

He and Alexis retreated from the room. He sat on his desk thinking of this new development and decided to go to his captain but then he saw Joseph Borden walking out of the interrogation room. He got up to talk to him when he turned around and spotted him. He walked to him and whispered "you keep my secret and I will keep yours wolf." and left leaving him shocked.

Alexis walked to him and said "what was that about?"

Klaus said "nothing" wondering should he tell his captain about it. He then went to his captain's office and knocked on the door and said "Ben I need to talk to you about something really important."

Ben looked up and said "yes?!"

Klaus closed the door behind him and said "Joseph Borden the defense attorney for Jim Hanley is a vampire."

He saw Ben sitting up and ask "are you sure?"

Klaus said "yes and he just threatened me. He told if I keep his secret he will keep mine."

Ben said "hmm I knew there were some vampires and werewolves working in regular jobs but had no idea about Joseph Borden." He looked thoughtfully at him and said "do you think he is not straight?"

Klaus said "vampires can compel so who knows what he has been up to. Him coming out to warn me just raises some suspicion."

Ben nodded and said "I want you to start a private investigation in his cases and see if he is up to something and keep a lid on it from Alexis."

As Klaus entered the squad room, Alexis asked him "what was that about?"

Klaus was about to say something when Ben came in and said "Joe called and they are ready for the raid. Lets go everyone. Chop chop."

He put the bulletproof vest and walked in the apartment building with Alexis following him. He turned to her and asked "hey you okay?"

Alexis said "just nervous. They have been at this case for what over a year."

Klaus nodded and then followed his colleague to the apartment. One of them banged the door open and entered announcing their presence. He headed to the back room and saw Liam, a young police officer, kneeling near a wall. he said "I found these here detective Mikaelsons."

Klaus looked at the the packet of cocaine, smelled it and said "good" and then turned around as they heard a sound soon followed by two gun shots.

He turned towards the door as he saw Alexis barged in and shot the person who had shot at Klaus.

he turned around as he heard the young sergeant say "jesus."

He stared at the bullet hole on the wall behind him.

The young police officer looked at him and said "it is miracle detective. It just missed you."

Klaus turned to Alexis with racing heart and said to Alexis "thanks for saving my life partner".

While Klaus was trying not to get killed, Hayley spend the day confused about whether she should move out of his room or not. She stood in the middle of his room and looked around and felt as if she had been living in that room for ever when in fact if she counted on his hands it was only 8 days that she had been sharing the room and the bed with him. She walked around the room and ideally opened the drawer on his side of the bed and smiled as she saw a picture of him, Elijah, Rebekah and Kol. She picked it up and stared at it for long and then put it back and closed the drawer.

She got up and went to the walking closet and then ideally ran her fingers on his suits and shirts and then she remembered him telling her about the safety box. She thought _'she should be able to open it at least once in case she ever needs it. She should know how to open it."_

She parted his clothes and spotted a locker behind the clothes. She entered the code he had told her and smiled as she heard the click sound. She opened it and looked inside. There was a gun box that she remembered him getting from his station on the day of their wedding. She took out the box and looked at it wondering how heavy it was and opened it and smiled. She then closed it and put it back. As she was closing the locker she noticed a white paper on the ground. She picked it up and was about to fold it back when she saw her name on it and recognized Mikael's hand writing and started to read it. As her eyes went on the words her heart started to sink. By the time she had ended reading the letter, she knew why Mikael was so kind to him and why he had left so much money for her and Hope. She went through the letter again and then it hit her that Mikael didn't know that Klaus had raped her and for some reason that knowledge just made her feel better. She wondered _'when did Klaus find out about this? Was it before he proposed to her or after? Did he propose to her because of this letter? Should she tell Klaus that she knows?"_ But then she told herself "she was not supposed to read it. It is his private letter. She will not mention it to him ever. Does not matter if he married her after getting the letter or before, he cares for hope. his love for hope is sincere, it coming from the heart and not from whatever Mikael wrote in his letter"

She put the letter back, closed the drawer and got up. Suddenly she made up her mind about the moving out and felt at peace with her decision.

On the drive to home he kept wondering _'will she move out of his room or stay? Can he persuade her to stay? Will she listen to him if he asks her to stay?'_ He said to himself after a few moments "you promised her that you will give her space and time so give her that."

When he entered the apartment Hope ran to him and hugged his legs very tight and said excitedly "daddy is home. Mommy daddy is home."

Klaus laughed at her enthusiasm and felt warm. He scooped her up and went towards the bedroom as he saw Hayley leaving the room with a smile on her lips that just made a knot in his stomach. He paused and wondered _'has she moved out or…?'_

He smiled at her and said "I will freshen up and then we can have dinner together. Right Hope?"

When she nodded, he put her on the carpet and after putting his wallet, wrist watch and keys in the drawer of side table he went to the bathroom. As he entered the bathroom, he noticed her stuff still there. He wondered '_is she not moving to Hope's room?' _with a ray of hope.

He came out after changing into his pajamas and looked at Hayley standing at the door watching him.

She said after some hesitation "I have been thinking today and I want to continue with our sleeping arrangement. I mean only Hope will move to her room. If it is okay with you."

He smiled and walked to the bed side table and put his wrist watch there and said "why do you think I wouldn't be okay with it. Of course I want you to move in with me and I am glad you made this decision. To tell you the truth I was hoping that you will not move out but I didnt have courage to ask you."

Hayley looked at him with an amused expression but didnt say anything. She said "lets go have dinner. I want Hope to spend some time with you before going to bed."

During dinner Klaus said "we closed the big Bartle case so we are having a celebration at Joe's house on Thursday. It was a really long sting operation my colleague Joe and his partner were working on so it is a big deal. Hope can come too so we dont have any excuse and it will be good for you to mingle before Friday."

At last after putting Hope to her bed, explaining her the change in sleeping arrangement when they came to their room Klaus asked her "nervous?"

Hayley looked at his face and saw anticipation so she shook he head and said "no".

Out of blue he laughed making her feel flustered and said "liar" and went to change his clothes.

Hayley stood there looking at him wondering _'when was the last time he had laughed like that?' _and then she remembered when he was in Mystic Falls helping Elijah with his cases.

She was smiling when he came out so he asked her "what is it?"

Hayley said "nothing."

After changing her clothes she went to lie next to him and for some reason she felt very relaxed and soon had gone to sleep.

For the next few days after putting Hope to bed and reading her a book, Klaus and Hayley would sit in the living room to watch some tv or discuss their day. Later at night before going to sleep Klaus would study the case files that Ben had given him about Joseph's cases while Hayley laid next to him sleeping peacefully. He soon realized something was not right. He approached his captain about his observation and they came up with a strategy to keep an eye on Joseph's current cases and Klaus decided to observe him defend his current client.

Thursday afternoon, Klaus was watching TV with Hope when his cell rang and he smiled as he saw Caroline's name on the caller ID but he recalled what Hayley had told him about her and then his mother's angry phone call and the smile slipped from his face.

He picked it up and said "hello Caroline."

Hayley was coming out of the kitchen when she heard her name and she stopped walking. Her gaze went to his face registering her reaction, his eyes narrowed and confusion appeared on his face. He looked at Hayley who walked towards them and took Hope's hand and said "lets go change."

Hope looked at Klaus and said "no daddy."

Klaus said "love, why don't you go and I will be there in a minute."

Hayley took Hope to the bedroom whereas Klaus said to Caroline "sorry. So what is going on?"

Caroline said "I just wanted to make sure that you are not angry."

Klaus controlled the angry outburst and said "about what Caroline?"

Caroline said "you know. I told your mother and she called you. I had no idea that she didnt know."

Klaus sighed and said "that is okay. water under the bridge. Tell me why didnt you call me earlier?"

When there was quiet he asked her "Caroline?!"

Caroline said "Hayley told me not to."

Klaus slowly got up and said "what do you mean?"

Caroline said "she told me that I cannot be in your life so that is why I didnt call."

Klaus looked towards Hope's bedroom door and said "no Hayley cannot say something like that."

Caroline laughed and said "of course you will believe her. how stupid of me. It is natural Niky that she would give me the warning. After all you are her husband. She didnt even take my apology you know."

Klaus stared at the door in confusion and then walked to it and saw her brushing Hope's hair. He smiled as she said "ouch mommy, you are hurting me".

Hayley smiled and said "really!"

Hope said "ahan".

Hayley kissed her and put the clip in her hair and then said "now go run".

He wondered 'who is lying to him, Hayley or Caroline?' but then he shook his head and said to himself "he knows Caroline. She wouldn't lie about something like that but he barely knew Hayley."

He said to her "listen you don't have to worry about that. You can call whenever you want to. I will talk to her about it."

Caroline said hastily"no, dont talk to her. She will not like it Klaus. Put yourself in her shoes. If I were in her place I would have said that to your ex fiancé too."

Klaus was quiet for a second realizing she was right. When he didnt say anything Caroline said "we can talk. Just dont tell her. We are friends right so lets keep it that. you dont have to tell her everything."

He said "okay I have to go now."

After putting the cell down he went to Hope's bed, kissed her on her head and left the room leaving Hayley feeling bewildered and wondering _'what happened now?'_

By the time Hayley walked in their room, she noticed that he had already changed and was looking at the file in his hand. She wondered if she should ask him about Caroline or not but the way his mouth was set she lost courage. She knew in her heart that something happened with Caroline. She thought 'may be talking to her reminded him of their past."

She was looking at him when he looked up and smiled at her making her feel a bit relaxed. He said "I have to read this thing. Why dont you get ready?"

Hayley nodded and said "Hope is watching cartoon so that she does not mess up her clothes." and went to change her clothes. As the door closed behind her he wondered _'why has she not asked about Caroline? Is Caroline right? Does Hayley feel insecure of her?' _

He shook his head, closed the file and went to the living room.

She closed the bathroom door, looked at herself in the mirror and then took of the emerald dress from the hanger. She looked at her reflection and then with a sigh started to apply some light makeup and eye shadows to cover up the circles under her eyes.

Klaus was watching cartoons with Hope when he heard the sound of heel. He turned around and just stared at her dressed in a halter top emerald dress reaching just below her knee, feet in silver sandal and hair losing tumbling over her shoulder and very decent makeup.

he picked hope up and said "lets go".

Hayley said "wait" and tied Hope's dress belt.

When they reached Joe's small house, there were a couple of people there. Klaus introduced her to Alex and some other people who apparently worked in his station. Then Alexis took her to the other room and Klaus was left in the big living room. She caught him looking at her a few times and wondered '_what is he thinking? what has Caroline told him?'_

Suddenly someone put on music. Hayley looked around and saw couples standing up and joining in the dance. She suddenly felt very self conscious when she heard Klaus say "I am not a good dancer so we don't have to".

She looked around and then said "no, lets do it. It might keep my mind off of tomorrow".

She gave her hand to Klaus and let him pull her towards him. As she was dancing in his arms, he asked "nervous about tomorrow".

Hayley said "umm, yeah, a bit. i have had it twice but for some reason this time I am a little bit nervous. not a whole lot." She looked around, gently laughed to make matters later and continued "I guess I am not looking forward to of _side effects _and of course there is Hope".

She spotted Hope with some other kids across the room.

She felt his hand grip tighten on her hand and looked towards him and caught him staring at her. She also suddenly felt his hand on her back and a tightening of her stomach muscles. She looked into his eyes and felt mesmerized but hastily looked away too. She searched her mind to say something to distract herself but couldn't think of anything and then she accidentally stepped on his shoe bringing smile on his lips.

he stepped back as the dance ended and held her hand for a moment and said while looking into her eyes "everything will be okay. I will be with you every step of the way."

He was looking at her when some one "yo Mikaelson, stop flirting with your wife… ".

Klaus laughed and looked towards the person and said "Andy pay attention to your family."

He then said to Hayley "I think we should leave. I will go and tell Joe about it. You should rest before tomorrow."

He left her standing there feeling touched at his care and thoughtfulness.

After a few minutes he came back with Joe and his wife and Hope.

Hayley thanked them and they left for their apartment.

After reaching home, she changed Hope and settled her in her bed and came back to their. Klaus was going to read Hope's a book when Hayley said "dont go, she already asleep"

He said "oh okay. Must be tired."

Hayley nodded and went to change her clothes too. They both went to sleep without talking about her impending appointment or anything.

Next morning they got up earlier than normal. Klaus noticed her giving Hope breakfast, changing her ,chatting with her in a normal way, doing chores in the apartment and couldn't help but admire her spirit.

He said to her "I will be home by 5" and left for work.

After he left, Hayley took a deep breath to calm her nerves that she had been trying to hide from Klaus and hoped that he hadn't noticed them. She felt somewhat calmed that he was with her. She kept herself busy all day with different chores and even took Hope to the part around noon. Around 4 she got ready and then settled down on the living room sofa with Hope.

Klaus looked at the prosecutor angrily and asked "what do you mean Emma, we are having a retrial? he should be sitting in the jail."

Emma said "I don't know what happened. We just got a mistrial. Judge Humvy got a letter in the mail that the jury has been tempered with and he got the proof which created the reasonable doubt so we have to go through it again. They will select the new jury today and will start again on Monday. You and Alex will have to come on Monday."

After the prosecutor left Klaus angry kicked the chair causing Alexis to raise her eyebrows. She asked him "are you okay? this is not the first time we have this kind of set back. Don't worry we will get him."

KLaus rubbed his eyebrows and said "yes I am fine. I just hate it when criminals like Disoza walk away on matters like these. I would like to know who tempered with the jury." and walked out angrily but Alexis caught up with him and said "hey hey, what is going on? You are really edgy today. I have never seen you act like this ever before."

Klaus looked at his wrist watch and saw it was almost 5:15 so he said "I have to go. I have talked to captain about it. Will talk later."and before she could say anything else he left.

As he opened the door of his car, he spun around as he sensed someone whose smell he recognized now anywhere. He said "Marcel, what are you doing here?"

Marcel said "Klaus you have to be careful, you are making enemies. You attacked another of my man a few days ago. Although he didnt recognize you, Jane-Ann did. She told me that you were the one who attacked him. I know you were defending her but still dont make vampires your enemy. So, it is true that you got yourself a wife and a child. as far as As far as I remember you were single."

Klaus said "yes, it is recent. Listen I have to go. I will visit tomorrow sometime. Is it safe to visit after my last visit?"

Marcel gave him a thoughtful look and then nodded. He got into his car and drove to his apartment.

Thirty minutes later they were heading towards the hospital with Hope in the back seat playing with her doll. He noticed that she was very quiet as he looked at her and then impulsively held her hand jolting her out of her thoughts. She smiled, looked at him and squeezed his hand too and then said "I don't want Hope to be in the room with me. Either you both come back home or stay out of the room".

Klaus looked at the desperation on her face and said "we will wait outside".

Klaus was sitting in the waiting room thinking of Hayley while Hope was playing with the toys set in the corner.

An hour later the doctor came and said "she is fine. She is resting. She is weak and needs to gain some weight because from the side affects she is at the risk of losing more weight".

Klaus said "Can i see her?"

The nurse said "yes".

Hayley was feeling hopeless staring at the ceiling when the door opened and he came in with Hope at his toe. Hope screamed "mommy" and ran to her but Klaus immediately said "Hope, wait".

He scooped her up as she was jumping up and down near her bed. Klaus looked at her and realized that she was not looking into his eyes but was looking at Hope His gaze went to the IV in her arm and he wondered how painful it must be?

He asked her "how are you feeling?"

Hayley looked at him for a second, felt touched by the expression on his face. She suddenly felt like crying but she told herself that she was not weak and will not show her weakness to Klaus. So she said "better. I want to go home".

Klaus said "I will ask doctor when we can go home".

Hayley said "I want to go home today. The longer I stay in the hospital hospital, the bigger the bill will get. And they cannot do anything by keeping me here".

Klaus looked at her and said "don't worry about money Hayley. Just rest".

She closed her eyes and his heart broke as he saw some tears seep into the pillow. She said "please I want to go home".

Klaus nodded and said "okay let me go and talk to the doctor".

As he left the room, Hayley looked towards Hope and asked "hey sweetie how are you?"

When Klaus entered the room he heard her say "mommy are you sick?"

Hayley smiled and said "a little bit. But I will get better soon".

He said to her "whenever you feel like getting up".

As she tired to get up, Klaus impulsively held her arm and helped her on the wheelchair the nurse had dragged into her room.

When they reached the apartment building Klaus realized that she had fallen to sleep. As He scooped her up after taking Hope out of her car seat, she opened her eyes and said in a lethargic voice "I can walk."

Klaus didnt put her down and said "I know" but didnt put her down.

He could feel her eyes on his face but didnt look at her. As he laid her on the bed, his cell rang. He groaned and picked it up.

He said after a few moments "can you drop the file at my house. I am off duty. I will do that from home"

He looked at Hayley after putting the cell down and said "Doctor Dole said that you need to take a lot of fluids and eat proteins and soft food to gain the strength as your body repairs the cells."

Hayley smiled and said "I am fine Klaus. I just want to sleep for a few hours."

Klaus said "sure but first you eat something."

He left the room and came back after a while with chicken corn souped. She asked "when did you get this?"

Klaus said "on the way from the work. I got it as I remembered reading something about it in the care package after your doctor's appointment. You start eating, I will get you some juice." And left the room.

Hayley felt touched at his thoughtfulness and even though her mouth was sour and the soup tasted like paper she tried a spoon and then the juice. She was eating it when he came back with the phone on his ear and a glass of juice in his hand. He put the glass of juice on the side table and said "Elijah wants to talk to you." and helped her up."

Hayley felt like saying no but then she nodded while sipping the juice.

Klaus sat on the bed with Hope in his lap and listened to her talking to Elijah.

She said after listening to the other side "oh no Elijah I am fine. Klaus is taking good care of me."

She paused for a second and then laughed and said "okay will do that. Thanks for calling. Here talk to Klaus." She said to him "Klaus!" in a tired voice and then put the plate of soup on the side table and got out of the bed and went to the bathroom.

Klaus looked at her and saw that she had her eyes closed and knew she was not feeling well so he took the phone from her and said "Elijah, I will call you later".

He went to the bathroom but the door was locked so he stood there feeling at loss. A couple of minutes later Hayley came out and said "sorry. My mouth taste is generally really bad after the chemo. It always happens."

The feeling of guilt again plagued him as he realized that she must have gone through this during previous two chemotherapies too. He held her arm and guided her to the bed and said "how about just some juice and then you go to sleep. I will take care of Hope."

Hayley nodded and then looked at her clothes and then shook her head and laid down. Klaus asked her feeling a bit awkward "do you want to change your clothes?"

Hayley opened her eye, smiled and said "when I get some of my energy back" and then closed her eyes.

He stood there looking at her then turned to Hope and said "lets go and have some dinner."

After giving her dinner, changed her, put her in the bed, read a book and made a cup of coffee for himself and went to his room. He sat on the bed reading a book while sipping the coffee.

After thirty minutes the bell rang so he went to the front door and saw Alexis there with Alex. Alexis gave him the file and left.

After Alexis left, he went back to his room, changed his clothes and settled down on the bed compiling the file.

He kept glancing at Hayley who was sound asleep and impulsively brushed the hair out of her forehead.

After finishing that work, he opened his email and looked at the document Elijah had send him concerning their company. By the time he was done evaluating everything it was mid-night. He glance at Hayley one last time, fixed the duvet on her and went to sleep too.

Next time when his eyes opened, she was not next to him. He got up abruptly and immediately went to the bathroom. He pushed the door open but it was locked So he pushed it and with one jerk managed to break it. He entered it and saw her sitting on the cold floor.

Hayley was sitting on the cold floor with her head on her knees. She felt really exhausted from the continuous vomiting she had been doing for the past half an hour. She looked up as she heard the door open and saw him.

Klaus darted to her, knelt next to her and asked "hey hey are you okay?"

She tried to smile but couldn't and shook her head. She started to get up but couldn't and stumbled back on the cold floor. Klaus bend down and scooped her up and carried her to their room. He felt her hand on his chest and asked "for how long have you been sitting here?"

Hayley shook her head and willed herself not to cry but suddenly the tears started to fall from her eyes as he lowered her on the bed.

He sat next to her and asked "not feeling good".

She shook her head, wiped her tears and said "this time they started too soon. I have never felt this bad".

Klaus said "why don't you lie down? I will bring something for you to eat".

Hayley hastily said with a touch of pleading in her tone "no please. I don't want to vomit again. I just want to sleep".

She added in a really tired voice "please just stay with me".

He held her hand and said "I am sorry that I slept through it"

She shook her head trying not to break down again.

He looked at her for a minute as she closed her eyes and then decided against it and sat next to her and asked "is there something else?"

She shook her head.

Klaus said impulsively brushing the hair out of her forehead "there is only one treatment left and then radiation and then you will be free of cancer".

He looked at his hand and saw a strand of hair and closed fist before she sees it.

Hayley opened her eyes and smiled at him making the muscles of his stomach tightened. She said "once someone gets cancer, they are never free of it but thanks for saying that. I am glad that Hope will have you in her life now. Before we got married I was always scared for her. What will happen to her after me".

Klaus felt his heart sink "you will recover Hayley".

She smiled and turned away from him and closed her eyes.

Klaus stared at her for a few seconds and then went to the other side of the bed and lied down. He closed his eyes but then snapped them open as he felt her hand slip into his. He looked towards her but she had her eyes closed. He went back to sleep looking at her exhausted face.

For the next few days Klaus noticed that she was getting weaker and weaker by the day and quieter too. She talked minimal and that was too when spoken to. Her behavior with Hope was okay but she was not the same bubbly self that he had seen in the early days of their marriage and even before that. Often he came home and found her kneeling over the toilet throwing up. Sometimes he woke up in the middle of night and saw her crying softly into the pillow but he realized that she didn't want him to see her weak, so he had never tried to console her. Every night in the middle of night he would suddenly wake up to see his hand in her grasp. And from the grip he would realize that she was the one holding his hand. He had a suspicion that she didn't even realize what she was doing. Every morning she would come out of bathroom with a smiling face even though he had gathered by now that her nausea strikes her first thing in the morning and then they would have breakfast with small chit chat during which he would ask her how she felt and she would say "fine" and he would not press the matter.

Hayley felt really overwhelmed by him paying so much attention to her. Often she looked up and caught him looking at her with eyes full of concern. She would smile telling him that she was feeling okay. She would wake up in the middle of the night and realize sometime during the night she had held his hand but instead of letting it go, she would keep on holding it and go back to sleep. When he would be busy with Hope she would look at him and felt at peace. Her heart was warming up for him which was taking her by surprise making her wonder '_how her feelings for him had changed in the past few weeks? She does not associate him with the man in that bathroom stall.'_

Four days after her chemo Hayley was cleaning Hope's room when she started to feel dizzy and then everything that had been happening took a toll on her and she yelled in frustration and threw the pillow across the room startling Hope. Hayley looked at Hope and realized what she had done. She immediately walked to her and knelt down next to her and hugged her tightly and said softly "oh baby I am so sorry. Mommy is just tried.".

Hope separated herself from Hayley and touched her cheek and said "are you sick mommy?"

Hayley gulped her tears and said "mommy is getting better. Come on now lets play something."

She sat there for the dizziness to pass and then got up when her cell rang and she smiled spontaneously as she saw his name on the cell. she picked it up and said "I am fine Klaus".

Klaus was looking at Alexis as she was talking to Joe but his trained hearing detected distress in her voice and he knew that she was lying. He said "I will come home early today. We have just wrapped up a big case so just doing the paper work."

Hayley said "okay good. thanks."

After she put the cell down it hit her that he had made it a point to call her at least once ever since she had her chemotherapy. She smiled and then she went to play with Hope as Hope called "mommy come. Lets have a tea party."

She sat on the carpet looking at Hope chattering away. As hope handed her the plastic tea cup she smiled at Hayley and said "coffee or tea?"

Hayley smiled, ran fingers through her hair and said "coffee but you need to ask me before you give me the cup sweetie."

Hope hit her hand on her forehead and said "oh no. I will give you another one."

Hayley laughed as Hope gave her another cup. She leaned back against the bed and ran fingers through her hair and then groaned as she saw lock of hair in her hand and suddenly felt very depressed. Even though Hope kept her busy all day with her talk and then she had to cook dinner she felt really depressed. After putting Hope some cartoons on she called her doctor's office and told them about their nausea. the nurse called her back a few minute later and said "Doctor Dole will write you an anti-nausea prescription. Just take one pill first thing in the morning and stop taking it if the nausea goes away. Give me your local pharmacy number."

Hayley said "514-980-7789. CVS".

The nurse said "okay. Let me call them." and put the cell down.

She took a deep breath and then went to bathroom and started throwing up. After throwing up she stood in front of the bathroom mirror and looked at her face and wondered in depression _'how long before she will lose all her hair and her complexion and all the things that made her attractive and different from a man's point of view.'_

She ran fingers on her cheeks and wondered _'how long does she have left?_' and then she thought _'what is she waiting for? For her to die or lose everything before….' _she stopped her thought process and then said to herself "shouldn't she make use of her life, enjoy everything before things take a turn for worse, before he even stops looking at her or find her remotely attractive as she will become bald and …" She pushed the thoughts out of her mind aggressively and then splashed water on her face making up her mind about him letting her in.

Klaus proved true to his words. She was still in the bathroom when she heard him saying to Hope "hello love" followed by her squeal of happiness "daddy. Look I am watching Dora."

Klaus looked around and wondered _'is she sick right now?'_

He asked Hope "Dora! what is it about?"

Hayley smiled, dried her face and walked out of the room.

She stood at the door way and watched him scoot near to Hope and heard her say "hmmhun. I don't know."

Klaus laughed and said "okay why dont you watch and I will go and check on mommy."

Hope said "mommy sick" before Hayley could say anything.

Klaus felt a tug at his heart and he said "she will get better".

He kissed her on her head, turned around and spotted her standing in the door way. Hayley looked at him and suddenly her eyes got blurry which didnt go unnoticed by Klaus and his heart ached for her. She said in a near composed voice "you came early today like you said. Dinner?"

As she was heading towards the kitchen Klaus held her hand and said "I will do it. Have you talked to Dole about the nausea."

Hayley said "yes I called today. She said she can prescribe an anti nausea medicine but besides that they cannot do anything because the body is getting weak as the medicine is breaking all the cells."

Klaus said "why dont you try those medicines. May be they will make you feel better."

Hayley smiled and said "thanks".

Later that night Klaus was sitting on the bed reading a book when Hayley sat near him and said "you said that when I am ready I should tell you. I want you to know I am ready if you ever want to."

She started to get up when he held her arm and pulled her back and said "what makes you think I don't want to?"

Hayley smiled but Klaus saw how sad she looked. She said "look at me. How can you be okay with this. I'm losing my hair, there are circles under my eyes and my skin is burning with the medicine."

Klaus held her hand and rubbed her fingers with his and said "Let me tell you. First of all I really want to and secondly you are the most brave and wonderful woman I have ever met. I know our marriage is not ideal but not a day has gone by when I have regretted making this decision. And there is nothing wrong with you. You _are beautiful_ and Hayley, beauty is not just outside. It is inside too and you have plenty of that. Tell me are you saying you are ready because you are feeling hopeless or you really want to?"

Hayley looked at him and then at his hand holding hers. She felt a tightening in her stomach and said softly "both. I will not lie to you. Both. I am feeling very depressed and hopeless but that will pass in a day or so. I also want us to become a true couple. We are married and I don't want to have a sexless marriage with this barrier between us and if I am right this is not your perfect idea about marriage too. We cannot live our lives with this thing hanging between us."

Klaus smiled and said "no, I don't want to but I am willing to wait for you to be ready".

Hayley smiled at his understanding and said "I am ready Klaus. If you want to we can do it today. I want to feel the way I used to … " she paused as she saw his pinched expression.

She immediately said "Klaus I will forget about that. I want to forget about that. Make me forget about that".

Klaus took her hand to his lips and gently kissed it sending chills through her body. He leaned in to kiss her but she leaned back making his heart sink.

Klaus stopped and leaned back and was letting her hand go but Hayley grabbed onto it and hastily said "no. I am sorry".

Klaus said "may be we should take it slowly. We can wait. Lets start with small steps."

Hayley said shaking her head "no. you said I should tell you when I am ready. I am ready. I don't want to die without consummating our marriage vows Klaus."

Klaus said firmly "you are not dying Hayley."

Hayley said desperately "you don't know that. Please can you give me this."

Klaus stared at her adamant and desperate face and said "Hayley this is not right. You are feeling desperate and that is why you…."

But Hayley cut him off by saying "I told you I want to have this. You have already done too much for me and Hope. I was desperate for the chemo expenses and I took it from you. You didnt find that odd so why do you find this odd?"

He sighed, leaned in and brushed his lips against her.

Hayley felt her legs losing all energy at the soft touch of his lips on her lips. Suddenly an image of him pinning her against the bathroom stall flashed through her mind and she shuddered. Klaus felt the softness of her lips against his and the knot in his stomach tightened but then he felt her shudder and leaned back. He looked into her eyes and saw nervousness. He put his hand gently on her thigh and at the same time felt her hand on his chest and a slight push.

He removed his hand now feeling frustrated and looked at her hand on his chest.

Hayley followed his gaze and realized what she has done and said "I …"

She hesitated and then leaned forward and kissed him on his lip.

Klaus gently returned the kiss and felt her hand slide down to his shirt and stopped at the hem. He guided her hand to take off his shirt while continuing kissing her. He broke the kiss as she took the shirt off and then keeping eyes on her face he slid his hand down to the hem of her shirt and started to pull it off but when she flinched he stopped. She shook her head and said "no, dont stop".

After he had taken her shirt off he gently leaned her back on the bed and stared at her slim body. He leaned on her and kissed her.

As she felt his naked torso touching her torso she started to lose her nerves as the images started to replay in her mind again but then she intentionally look a deep breath to calm herself She returned his kiss and to keep her nervous hands busy she gently cupped his face.

Klaus moved his lips to her jawline and then to her neck and continued kissing her. She moaned as he slightly bit her earlobe and whispered "are you okay?"

Hayley breathed "yes".

He slid his hand down her naked torso while continuing to kiss her neck.

Hayley gasped as his hand starting to move to her pelvis and she said "Klaus!"

He looked at her and said "do you want me to stop?"

She looked into his eyes saw the demons that she was having. She said "no".

He kissed her on her lips and then moved his lips down to the small swell of her breast exposed from her bra.

She felt as if she was on fire but before she could recover she felt his hand slid to her back and took of her bra.

She suddenly remembered something and said rather loudly "no".

Klaus stopped and lifted himself up from her. He was moving away from her but she said "no".

Klaus felt confused and asked "what is it Hayley?"

She suddenly felt very self conscious and said "not my breast".

Klaus stared at her in confusion and then it hit him and he said "dont be absurd".

She said shaking her head and saying desperately "I don't want you to see the scar Klaus".

He said "Hayley there is nothing to be ashamed of".

She said "I just don't…" but he kissed her lips and said "Hayley if you tell me to stop I will but I hope that you dont."

Hayley stared into his eyes and saw genuine feelings so she nodded.

Klaus kept his eyes on her face and unhooked her bra. He then slid the straps off her shoulder and pulled the bra off. His gaze went to the scar on her right breast and he gently kissed it making her body jump. He looked at her and said "you are beautiful".

Tears slid from her eyes and got absorbed in the pillow. He kissed her tears away and then bend to kiss her breast again making her squirm. He put his lips on her right nipple and kissed it making her gasp.

She grabbed his hair and make him look at her and said "O god please".

Klaus said "do you want me to stop?"

Hayley panted "no, It is just I have never had experienced this before."

Klaus moved her hair back from her forehead and asked "really?!"

Hayley blushed and said "yes, I have a five year old daughter, I couldn't exactly bring suitors to my apartment".

Klaus gently caressed her cheek and said "hmm. I am sorry I put…" but she cut him off by saying "no, please dont. I dont want to think about that".

She said with a smile "do it again".

Klaus smiled and then touched her nipple again and kissed it softly making her arch her back.

His lips shifted to her left breast and did the same thing to it. She couldn't help but squirm under his touch. He moved his lips down there naval and kissed her naked stomach making her grab on the bed sheet and bite her lips to stop the moaning that was ready to escape her lips.

He looked up into her eyes and when she nodded he gently started to slip her pants down. He got up and slid his pants down too and then laid on her again. He kissed her lips and enjoyed her returning the kiss. While her mind was clear now, forgotten the past, his mind kept on replying that image in the bathroom, him pinning a girl against the stall and he felt nausea building up in him and felt like stopping but then he thought she might think he is rejecting her because of that scar so he continued kissing her and then he felt her hand on his back and he relaxed a little bit. He moved his lips on her jawline, neck, down the neck and then he asked her "are you okay?"

Hayley suddenly felt very nervous as she felt him getting hard and her getting wet. She whispered "yes".

He said "If you want me to stop, I will".

Hayley said at once "no" and kissed him on his cheek.

He parted her legs with his knees, looked into her eyes and said "tell me when you want me to stop." He then placed his right hand under her hip and gently lifted it and before she could say anything she felt him in her. He stared into her eyes and asked "Hayley?!"

She shook her head and touched his cheek. Klaus started to rock gently against her. She felt his eyes on her and then impulsively cupped his face near her and kissed his lips and said "forget about the past Klaus".

He asked with a slight smile "that obvious?"

She smiled and whispered "yes".

He kissed her again and then nuzzled his lips into her neck and continued rocking against her. Hayley closed her eyes as she started to feel her climaxing and it hit her that she never did five years ago. She pursed her lips and felt his hand on her thigh and pulling it up. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist as he continued to rock against her.

As he climaxed, he kissed her neck while at the same time he felt a soft kiss on his shoulder. He whispered "are you okay?"

Hayley opened her eyes and realized what she was doing. She gently laughed and said "yes. Stop asking me that. I am wonderful. "

Klaus lifted himself on one of his hands and looked into her face and said "this is how it should have happened the first time too".

Hayley touched his cheek and then his hair and said "well it is never too late".

Klaus caressed her cheek with his left hand and got off of her.

he pulled her naked body against him and said "I thought that I will have to wait for like forever. thank you for letting me in so soon".

Hayley turned towards him and said "thanks for being so sweet to me".

They lay silently and then Klaus said "Hayley I think I will fall in love with you sooner then I thought I will."

Hayley felt her stomach muscles tightened. She sat up and looked towards him with the duvet covering her breast and said "I cannot".

Klaus asked in confession "what?"

Hayley said "I cannot say that for myself. It will take me sometime to develop any romantic feelings for you Klaus but I am looking forward to those feelings".

Klaus smiled and said "I know Hayley. I understand that".

Hayley smiled said "I think we should change in case Hope decides to come in".

Klaus laughed and looked around for his shirt whereas Hayley bend to pick her discarded shirt from the ground.

Klaus got up to put on his pants whereas she raised her arm to put the shirt on. Klaus turned to look at her and at once knelt on his knees on the bed and touched her right shoulder. Hayley asked slightly turning towards him "what?"


	16. Chapter 16 New dawn

**_A/N: THank you for the reviews. First of all guest asking about Klaus waiting till Hayley is ready. it was not exactly like "I will wait until you are ready to have sex". It was in general Klaus told her that he will give her space and time to settle down and adjust before moving to next step. he made it clear to her from the start that it was i her hand when she wants to take their marriage to the next step because that has always been his intention. He wanted to have a real marriage, ready to fall in love with her. Then in chapter 13 or 14 he told her that he wants to be there when she is having her checkup but he needed her consent so he had been telling her off and on that he needs her consent not just specifically for sex. And Hayley knew what he meant all along and that is why she was hesitant in sharing the room with him, having the checkup in front of him. _**

**_Another thing I gather from reviews that most of you are surprised that they consummated their vows so early in their marriage considering their past but you have to look from Hayley's point of view. She is losing hope in life, going depressed, losing hair (probably will go bald) which really puts a damper to woman's mood etc so she wanted to do that before things took a turn to worse and he didnt even find her attractive. in her mind Klasu might not be interested in her if she becomes bald. Personally it is a very sad thought to me because I know someone very close to me who went through this stage. So I can relate to her feelings. But I am happy you like the scene ;). I have rarely written a negative character but writing for Caroline is turning out to be basically I am not a very confrontational person so I will not prolong it probably lol. Yes Klaus trusting Caroline is annoying but they have a past and he cannot let go of that past. Marrying Hayley and sleeping with her does not mean that he loves her or she him. He is just being, caring and dutiful to his responsibilities. Caroline was his first love, it will take some time for him to forget her. May be Caroline will manage that with her own actions lol. Lets see. A couple of you have asked will becoming a werewolf cure her cancer. That is being discussed in this chapter. I hope you like this chapter too. _**

**_Synopsis: Aftermath of their one night together reveals many things which Klaus was not ready to face but he has no option other then to accept him. An enemy from his work place invade their private space putting his family at risk. _**

* * *

><p>Klaus stared at the half crescent moon on her right shoulder and felt a drop in his stomach. She asked him again "what?"<p>

Klaus said "nothing."

He pulled her toward him after she put on her shirt and soon after she fell asleep in his arms for the first time ever. While Hayley was sleeping Klaus was awake thinking about what he has found. He vividly remembered that birthmark when Marcel had told him about Crescent pack in the bayou. He recalled what Caroline had told him about Hayley's parent and that she was adopted. Klaus closed his eyes in agony thinking _'why is it that every thing bad was happening to her?'_ and then he snapped them open as it hit him that being fathered and mothered by wolves Hope will definitely have the gene and his heart sank further and didnt know his grip around her torso tightened. He laid there holding her still lost in his thought _'how could he prevent that his family trigger their genes, but then he remembered the Crescent pack cursed Does that mean they will be cursed too when they will trigger their gene?' _He went to sleep thinking about random things concerning Hope and Hayley. The last thing he remembered before going to sleep was the hope he was feeling with the progress Hayley and he had made in their relationship.

Next morning when he woke up she was still in his arm and he realized that it was the first time in many days she was not up before him and was not throwing up as usual. He was looking at her face when she opened her eyes.

Memory of last night flashed through her eyes and she blushed and gave him a shy smile. He removed a strand of hair from her cheek and said "hey…"

Hayley smiled and said "hi…"

Klaus said "how are you feeling?"

Hayley said smiling "very good. No sickness and no heaviness."

Klaus touched her shoulder where he could see the light remnant of those teeth marks. Hayley followed his gaze and touched his hand softly and said "you okay?"

He steered his eyes from the mark and looked at her face and said "I will be."

Hayley touched his cheek and said "good."

Klaus leaned in and kissed her gently which she almost immediately returned.

He broke the kiss and said "will you be okay today? I have to go."

Hayley smiled and said "yes".

He got out of bed reluctantly and went to he bathroom. While taking the shower he kept wondering about the birthmark on her shoulder and out of blue a thought occurred to him '_will becoming a wolf cure her cancer?'_ but then he shook the thought out of his mind. He decided to pay Crescent pack a visit after work sometime.

He dried himself and while changing his clothes, he remembered last night and a smile appeared on his lips. He realized that even though their love making was devoid of the actual love for each other yet it was sweet and she was wonderful. He still remembered her slender body and how she had laughed when he had asked her how she was doing. He suddenly remembered her saying _"no one has ever done that to me."_ and wondered _'has she never had sex before.'_ and the possibility that she was virgin when he raped her hit him very hard. He tried to remember if she was virgin but couldn't remember. He stayed there with his head bend, hands on the counter cursing himself for that one act of his life that changed her life forever.

When he came out he saw her sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. Thinking that she was feeling sick he rushed to her and said "Hayley!"

when she looked up he asked "are you feeling okay?"

Hayley said "Klaus…" but stopped.

Klaus asked "have I hurt you?" He paused for a second before asking with hesitation "are you regretting last night?"

Hayley at once said "no, no that is not it. Why do you think that? I wanted this."

Klaus said "I feel as if I took advantage of you, of your emotional state."

Hayley touched his cheek caressed it while shaking her head while speaking softly "not at all. I asked you and you gave it to me."

Klaus smiled, touched her hand and said "then what is it?"

When Hayley hesitated so Klaus said "you can tell me anything you know."

Hayley said "I cannot get pregnant again."

Klaus stared at her and asked with racing heart "what do you mean? Did something happen when I …."

Hayley hastily said "no, no. I am fine. I meant I cannot get pregnant during my treatment. The chemo and radiation can harm the baby. Last night the possibility didn't occur to me and now I am just scared. I dont want to get pregnant _right now._"

Klaus felt a drop in his stomach as he realized that she was right but he said keeping his voice calm "dont worry. Everything will be okay. I am with you. We will handle this together. But in future we will take precautions."

His heart felt light suddenly when she asked with a smile "future?"

Klaus laughed, kissed her hand and said "you didn't think this was a one time deal did you?"

Hayley said smiling "of course not but to tell you the truth I never thought this aspect of our lives until yesterday but now I want to…. I mean think about it."

He laughed and got up pulling her up with him and said softly bringing her close to him "last night was great. I want to make some really good memories with you to replace the bad one."

Hayley said "we will. With time we will make so many good memories that we will no have space for the bad one."

He gently brushed his lips against hers and let go of her hand. Hayley went to change her clothes whereas Klaus continued getting ready for work.

The next couple of days went smoothly. Her nausea reduced to once a day. She noticed that he was paying extra attention to her health and eating habits. Hope was getting too attached to Klaus. It was great to see them together. He had started to kiss her quiet often and causally; grabbing her while she is walking by him, giving her his knee buckling smile and gently kissing him either on lips or cheeks. He was even doing things which would naturally break the wall between them like leaving the bathroom door open while washing his face or brushing his teeth or even trimming his facial hair, taking off his shirt in front of her; things that any normal couple sharing a bedroom cannot avoid for long. Sometimes she felt overwhelmed by the way he pampered her and she realized because she was not used to this kind of attention.

Two days later at night time while he was holding her close to him while telling her about his day and asking about hers, Hayley realized that she was not listening to him but rather staring at his pink lips. She impulsively leaned in, kissed his soft lips and asked "have you changed your mind about .…" Klaus said "of course not."

When she continued to look at him and he didn't respond she leaned back with a sinking feeling in her heart but Klaus grabbed her from her waist and asked "Are you on birth control pills?"

Hayley said regretfully "I cannot have birth control pills Klaus. When I was told not to get pregnant by Dr Ackles, he told me that oral contraceptives may be acceptable for some women, but are generally not recommended for women with breast cancer but as I was not sexually active so I never give it a thought."

Klaus said "it is okay but I dont have any contraceptives either ,Hayley."

Hayley said regretfully "oh okay. Next time may be."

He snuggled her later closer to him feeling guilty about lying to her. She went to sleep in his arms feeling relaxed that it was not that he didnt want to have sex with her. He went to sleep trying to convince himself that he was lying for her sake, buried his face in her thinning hair, feeling her hand on his chest along with the shallow breathing and without saying anything went to sleep with her.

Next day he went to office while she stayed home with Hope feeling relaxed, happy and nausea free after many days.

Later that night when she was going to bed he said from the open bathroom door "I opened an bank account for you and Hope last week but forgot to tell you after everything that has happened. The credit card came today in the office mail. It is in my wallet. Take it."

Hayley said "I don't need it."

At one glance he noticed the adamant look on her face so he said as he splashed water on his face "You will need it Hayley. take it. It is the money from my work." When he came out she was sitting there on the bed looking down at something. He walked to her and asked "what is it? are you feeling okay…" and then stopped as he saw what she was holding.

She got up, looked a him, threw the packet on the table in anger and started towards the bathroom when he grabbed her arm and turned her towards him.

Hayley pushed him away angrily and desperately and yelled "_you lied to me!_ If you dont want to have sex with me then_ tell me_ _that _but don't lie to me. I…"

He held her by her arms and said earnestly "no, listen I want to. I lied to you because I wasn't sure whether the night we slept together was because you really wanted to or because an impulsive decision."

She stared into his eyes and then tears started to fall. She said in a teary voice "I don't believe you Klaus." as she stepped back jerking his hands away from her and stormed into the bathroom with a heavy heart.

He stood there running his fingers through his hair in frustration looking at the closed bathroom door. He walked to it after five minute and knocked on it but she didnt reply. A thought crossed his mind _'may be she has gotten sick again and fainted'_ so he said now getting worried "Hayley open the door or else I will break it."

A few seconds later he heard the click of the door knob and she stepped out. She brushed past him and went to lie on the bed.

He looked at her for a few moments and then went to lie on his side of the bed too after switching off the light.

Hayley had her face turned away from him and was thinking '_it is okay. If anyone were in his spot he would have felt the same way. First he had to marry her despite being with the love of his life for Hope' sake and then she literally begged him to have sex with him and he obliged because he felt sorry for a cancer patient….' _suddenly her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand around her waist and he turned her towards him. Klaus could see depression on her face and his heart sank with the realization that he is the cause of that unhappiness.

He said "Hayley, I want to. I really want to but I want you to be sure of before…" but Hayley cut him off by saying "I am sure Klaus. I was sure. I took that step after a lot of thinking. I dont want to die knowing that I had a chance to make a life for myself and I didn't grab that chance and did something about it."

When she stopped he caressed her cheek with his thumb and said "no one is dying here. You will recover and yes I agree with you about grabbing the chance."

He paused for a second then thinking that _she is looking beautiful and wants him and he wants her and he has contraceptives so what is stopping him' _he leaned in to kiss her. At first she couldn't return that kiss but then the softness of his lips melted her heart and she started to kiss him which gradually progressed to something more then just a plain kiss and in just a few minutes they were lying naked and making love. He was so passionate as well as caring that it made her believe each and every word he had said. Later when he was holding her she asked him "I am glad you got them."

Klaus looked at her and then remembering her insecurities towards Caroline he decided not to tell her that they had been there since before their marriage; when Caroline used to visit him.

He smiled and kissed her hand and said "do you believe me now?"

She nodded. She was looking for her shirt when he handed her his with a twinkle in his eyes. She smiled and put it on while he put on his pajama and they both went to sleep in each other arm.

With each passing day Klaus noticed that even though she seemed well adjusted and happy, but occasionally he could see how scared she was of the prospect of getting pregnant. Often he saw her standing in front of the bathroom mirror or bedroom with her hand on her bare stomach. During this time, Klaus did his own research about the risks of carrying a baby during the treatment of cancer and he understood the fear that Hayley had. Seeing how scared she was, he made sure that he didn't let her on in his own fears. They both knew that if she is pregnant then there are only two options; either stop the treatment until the baby is born or abort the baby because they both knew that she cannot carry the baby and have the treatment at the same time because it was risky for the baby.

Four days later after them taking their relationship to new step one morning, Hayley walked to his side of the bedside table to pick up the glass of water when the cell rang. She started to turn but stopped as she saw Caroline's name on the caller ID and her heart sank. She turned around and left the room wondering _'why is she calling him? Does she call him often?'_

Ten minutes later she was sitting with Hope giving her breakfast while her mind breakfast with her mind still wondering about Caroline's phone call.

Klaus came out of the bathroom and picked up his cell as the bell rang. He smiled as he saw Elijah's name of the caller Id. He said "Elijah, I was thinking about you. You never called about you know… after that day. What is new at your end?"

Elijah said sarcastically "_great! _You tell me that we are these supernatural beings and there is a world full of them and now ask me how am I. Wonderful!"

Klaus laughed and said "why didn't you call before then. It has been more then a week since you found out. Elijah said "I wanted to give you some time because of Hayley's treatment and all. How is she doing by the way?"

The smile slipped from his face as he said "yes, thanks for that. She is doing better now."

Elijah said "may be I should visit soon. You will not believe it but I miss Hope of all the people. Still cannot believe it that she is your daughter."

He walked out of the room saying "yes sometimes I dont believe it either but yes do come over any time."

Hayley looked up as he walked out of the room and tried to smile but felt her jaw muscles have stopped working.

Klaus walked into the kitchen, poured himself coffee, kissed Hope on her head and said "ahan when are you coming?"

Elijah said "not right now but I want to tell you that other is steaming and she might call you or make a visit. She is absolutely not ready to accept Hayley. Now she is saying that she married you for your money and she is not happy with what she had already gotten from father. I assume he gave her the money because he found out about her and Hope. I wanted to ask you whether you have given her that money?"

Klaus rubbed his hand on his forehead with frustration and said "no, she refused to take it."

Elijah said "as expected but let me tell you that the only way to soften her heart will be if you tell her about Hope."

Klaus looked at Hayley and caught her looking at him. He said "hmm. Let me think about it" at the same time mouthed her "what happened?" She shook her head and looked at Hope eating oatmeal thinking _'why is Caroline coming over again?'_

He said "wait" to Elijah and said to Hayley "I am getting late. Have to go. Will be late". Picked up his coffee kissed Hope again, gently kissed Hayley making her stomach muscles tightened , looked into her eyes and knew something was not right but he was getting late so he decided to talk to her in the afternoon.

He said to Elijah "okay so tell me what is going on?" as he closed the door behind him not knowing what she was thinking and why was she so depressed.

Later that day in the afternoon she was sitting in the park looking at Hope sliding down the slide but thinking about the way Klaus was talking to Caroline and felt a strange feeling which she realized to her shock that she was jealous. She wondered _'why was he so comfortable with her and why was she still calling him after what he did to her? If she were at Caroline's place and her fiancé has done something like that she wouldn't have called him"_

She suddenly straightened as she saw a man talking to Hope. Hayley got up hastily and almost ran towards Hope and said coldly "excuse me what do you think you are doing?"

She helped Hope down and held her hand fiercely. The man looked around and said softly "Mrs. Mikaelson, you have a beautiful daughter. Your husband should think about you two before taking a case."

Hayley heart stopped and she turned away and hastily walked away from him in a random direction. After a couple of minute he looked around but the man was no where to be seen so she turned towards her apartment. As she reached the apartment building, she noticed that man again. Her heart started racing. She picked up Hope and ran up the stairs. She opened the apartment door after fumbling with the keys for a moment and entered it carrying Hope panting. She closed the door behind her and stood there holding Hope to her chest and then she jumped as she heard a bang on the door. She ran to her bedroom, closed the door and ran into the walking closet and shut it. There was a loud bang as she pushed Hope behind her and with shaking hand started to enter the code for the locker. There was another bang and she knew the bed room door was broken. She quickly took out the gun and pointed it towards the door and shouted "I have a gun. I swear if you come in I will shoot."

The door flew open with a bang and the intruder stood there with a black ski-mask on his face. Hope grabbed her leg and starting wailing. The invader looked at her and said "tell detective Mikaelson to stop digging or else…" he looked at Hope viciously, disregarding the gun Hayley was holding with shaking hands. Hayley felt a terror seize her heart and said "you look at her one more time and I will…"

The man laughed and said "I don't think you have courage." He took one step towards them and Hayley just pressed the trigger.

Klaus laughed at Alexis and said "I am glad I don't have to go through that. Poor Alex! Why dont women understand that men don't like to hear about the wedding prep detail twenty four seven".

Alexis said smiling "_you are in a cheery mood these days._ Things are going great at home I presume." her expression changed to mischief by the end of sentence.

He smiled and closed the car door when they heard "shots fired at 45 B Willow Creek Ave…"

Before Alexis could respond Klaus was already in the car. He felt as if his heart would jump out of his chest any second. He suddenly remembered her depression and desperation a couple of days ago and his heart sank. Alexis looked at him anxiously but didn't say anything. She said "Mikaelson, Wood on the way."

He was running up the stairs two at a time when his cell rang. He ignored it and continued climbing the stairs two at a time. He stopped as he saw a couple of officers standing there. One of them whom he recognized said "Klaus…"

But he pushed him aside and yelled anxiously "Hayley!"

Hayley put the cell down wondering _'where was he?' _when she heard him call her name. She got up with Hope and walked out of the room.

He went straight towards his room with his heart racing and then put his hand on the wall to support him as he saw her walking out carrying Hope. He exhaled loudly, went straight to her, took Hope from her and hugged both of them tightly. He said "Oh God. I was so scared. I thought…" but stopped.

He pushed her away from her roughly and asked harshly "what happened?"

Hayley said "a man tried to grab Hope in the park and then followed us home. He told me to tell you to drop the case you are working on. He was going to…" she stopped talking. Klaus hugged her again fiercely as he heard the terror in her voice. Hayley said "I fired".

Klaus's heart stopped beating and he asked "and?"

Hayley said shaking now "it missed him but he ran. I was so scared…"

Klaus looked at Alexis who came out with the gun and said "this is your gun. There is a hole in the wall."

Jim walked to him and said apologetically "listen Klaus I need to take her statement and then ask you where you keep your gun."

Klaus nodded and said "Jim I want to stay."

He led Hayley to the living room and sat with her with Hope in his lap. He could feel from the hold around his neck that Hope was scared too.

In the next hour Klaus saw Jim asking Hayley and him all sorts of questions. He could see that she was nervous by the way her hands were shaking in his hands but was answering all of their questions boldly and calmly. While Hayley was answering Jim's question Klaus was wondering _'what case was the intruder referring to?' _

He looked up as Alexis walked to him and waved him to come over. Klaus nodded and looked at Hayley who was now shaking. He said "you have been very brave Hayley. A little longer. I will just be back."

He walked with Alexis and said "so?"

Alexis said "the doors has been broken down Klaus. There might be finger prints. You have to stay in a hotel tonight. This is a crime scene."

Klaus nodded but noticed something on her face and asked "what?"

Alexis hesitated but then gave him a bottle of medicines and said "I am sorry. I had no idea."

Klaus looked at Hayley nausea medicine's during her cancer and said "it is okay. We dont want people to know."

Alexis nodded and said "I understand".

She smiled looking over his shoulder. Klaus turned around and saw Hayley looking at him. He smiled and said "when they are done, I will get them to the hotel."

He walked to her and nodded to the female officer standing closer to her. He said to her "we will have to spend the night at a hotel. We can go to Elijah's house, but it would be safer to spend the night in a hotel."

She nodded and got up. Alexis stood there while Hayley gathered some of hers, Hope and Klaus's stuff whereas Klaus suddenly remembering the letter and the prospect of someone finding out about it went to the walking closet and saw that the locker was already open and the letter was not in there. He cursed "bloody hell" and looked around sharply only to bump into Hayley. Hayley said softly "I have it. I took it out when those officers came in."

He stared at her and whispered "you knew."

Hayley nodded and said "I am glad he knew before his death. He was really nice with Hope whenever he met her."

Klaus hugged her and said "lets go".

They spent the night at the Marriott. It took a while to settle down a very scared Hope. At last Hayley managed to put her to sleep and put her on her left side while she settled down next to Klaus. Klaus held Hayley while they talked about the incidence a little bit and then she went to sleep while he stayed awake thanking his luck that she misfired and didnt trigger her gene. He gently caressed her arm and decided to get the gun out of house. He closed his eyes and soon after he was asleep Hayley got up in the middle of night feeling sick waking him too. For the next thirty minutes she knelt over the toiler while Klaus sat next to her giving her support feeling totally helpless.

She got up with his help and said "I want to lie down. Give me one tablet and I will go to sleep."

He helped her into the bed after giving her medicine and said "yes you go back to sleep for a few hours. I will call in the captain that I will be late."

Hayley said "no. you go I will be okay."

He held her while she went to sleep. He wondered if he should try the vampire blood on her and then a thought struck her 'what if it gets worse?'

At last he managed to get some sleep. He was fast asleep when his cell rang causing her to stir. He picked up the cell, carefully not disturbing her and said "hello Ben".

Ben said "you take a day off Mikaelson. We are looking into it. Any idea which case he was referring to?"

Klaus held her close to him and said "Joseph Barton."

Ben said "okay I will look into it." and cut the connection.

He took a sigh of relief and went back to sleep feeling a bit relaxed.

An hour later he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. He opened his eye to see Hope standing next to him. He smiled and picked her up and put her next to him between her and Hayley. She said "daddy, I am hungry."

Klaus nodded and sneaked out of bed covering Hayley with the duvet.

After giving Hope something to eat from from the things they had packed up before leaving the apartment, he gave her some of her toys to keep her busy and got himself busy on his laptop. Klaus searched the net to find out what type of injuries or illnesses a werewolf can cure but couldn't find anything for sure so he took out his cell and dialed Mason's number. As the call connected he asked "Mason, can a werewolf have cancer?"

Mason said "I have not seen such case. Why?"

Klaus said keeping his voice low "just curious. Can you find out for me?"

Mason said "okay but what is this I am hearing about, Niklaus? Esther told me that you are married to a woman who already has a child."

Klaus looked towards Hayley still sleeping and then at Hope playing with her toys. As he saw she walked to him with a plastic cup in her hand and gave it to him saying "coffee."

Klaus smiled, took the coffee cup from her and said to Mason "yes, I will introduce you to them next month when I visit Mystic Falls. Listen I have to go now. Do this for me."

He put the cell on the table and looked at Hope and asked "you made his?"

Hope said "ahan" with a smile and climbed into his lap. She put her head on his chest and said "Tom and Jerry."

Klaus laughed and put the TV on for her.

Around 10 am Ben called and told him that apartment was clear. Also that Joe and his partner brought in Joseph Barton but he is clear which left Klaus really confused about which case was the man who invaded their apartment was talking about. Ben was now looking into his other cases too.

When Hayley woke up, it was around 11 am. He saw Hope and Klaus watching cartoon. She smiled and said "good morning."

Hope said excitedly "mommy" slipped from Klaus's lap and ran to Hayley. She climbed the bed and snuggled close to her.

Klaus asked her walking to the bed too "hey how are you feeling now?"

Hayley said "much better" falling down on the bed and pulling Hope to her. She asked "when are we going home?"

Klaus said "Alexis called. She said they have taken the finger prints, the doors has been fixed and it is safe for us to go."

Klaus looked at her and asked "when did you find the letter?"

Hayley brushed Hope's hair out of her forehead and said "I just wanted to see if I can open the safety box so I tried it one day and accidentally found the letter. I am sorry I read it. I was private and I should have but I saw my name on it accidentally and I couldn't resit."

Klaus said "it is okay." He paused and then added "you do realize that he didnt know that I …"

Hayley smiled and said "yes I do and for that I am happy. Actually I have been thinking that if ever someone finds out about Hope real parentage then we can tell them this story."

Klaus wondered if he should tell her about Elijah's suspicion and then said "before Elijah left, he had reached at that conclusion too. A part of me wanted to tell him but then I decided not to. I dont know why but I just feel so guilty that they, my father and my brother think that I am not capable of such a thing."

Hayley said brining Hope close to her "because you are not. That was a long time ago. One time thing. It happened now forget about it."

Klaus sighed and looked at Hope who was just snuggled against Hayley already forgotten about yesterday and smiled at her.

That afternoon they went to their apartment. After a lot of thinking Klaus decided not to keep the gun in the apartment thinking that she might trigger her gene next time. He suggested to Hayley that they should move to Elijah's house but Hayley was adamant and said "we cannot move every time we see a threat Klaus. What if someone else follow us there? Will we leave that house too?"

That night Hayley slept a little uncomfortably and in the middle of the night Klaus woke up as someone tapped on his shoulder to find a very scared Hope. He looked towards her alarmingly as she said almost crying "daddy I am scared."

Klaus picked her up and carried her to the bed and laid her between him and Hayley.

Next day Klaus left for work and spend the day looking at all his open cases but four out of five cases were clear so he opened the last file and stared at Brain Hanley's name and sat up as he recalled Joseph Barton was his lawyer too and considering he is a big shot he could be involved too.

After work he went to the bayou and was walking around ideally when he spotted a young woman. He said "hello."

The woman replied "hello."

Klaus said "my name is Klaus Mikaelson. Are you a Crescent wolf?"

The woman looked at him for a fe moments and then nodded.

Klaus said "You must be an untriggered werewolf then if you are not a wolf right now."

The woman stared at him without saying anything for a moment and then said "yes, my name is Eve. You are clearly not a Crescent wolf."

Klaus said smiling "yes. Seeing that I am a new werewolf I was wondering if you could enlighten me with some information about wolves."

When Eve looked at him questioningly he said "what type of diseases a werewolf can cure?"

Eve said "what a curious question! but to answer to your question, I have only seen the werewolf cure itself of injuries, heart diseases, asthma and liver problems. I have not seen any other examples. Which particular disease you have in mind."

Klaus stared at her and said "cancer."

Eve said after looking at him for a moment "I don't know about that. I have never seen a wolf having cancer so I cannot help you there."

Klaus nodded and said "thank you." and was leaving when Eve asked "the person who are asking about, is she a wolf?"

Klaus turned to her and asked "how do you know it is a _she _we are talking about?"

Eve smiled and said "the way you talked about her, you feel responsible for her. So is she a wolf yet?"

Klaus shook his head saying "no, not if I can help it."

Eve smiled and said "considering I never triggered my gene so I understand what you are saying. Tell you what, I will look more into it and let you know what I have found out. Contact me in a week."

Klaus nodded and left.

After leaving from the bayou he sat in the car for a few moments and then went to the Jaguar dealers.

As he entered the apartment he saw her lying on the living room sofa. He walked to her and noticed her eyes closed. As he was looking at her she opened her eyes and smiled. He sat on the center table and asked "how are you feeling?"

Hayley looked up and said "I am fine. Hope was not feeling well so I put her to bed."

Klaus asked "what happened?"

Hayley said getting up and going to the kitchens "just normal flu and temperature. She will get better in a few days."

Klaus nodded and went towards Hope's room before Hayley could say any further.

Hayley turned around and said "Klaus…" but saw him going to Hope's room and felt a tug at her heart. She smiled and started to put dinner on the table.

A couple of minute later, he came out and said "she is a bit warm." looked a the table and said "you have not eaten anything?"

Hayley shook her head and said "I gave her medicine."

Klaus said "why have you not eaten anything? You know you have to eat at regular intervals of time."

Hayley smiled and sat down and said "stop worrying about me too much. I am not used to all this." put some pasta in her plate.

Klaus smiled and sat down opposite her and said "I am not worrying _too much_. I am being rightfully caring."

She laughed but didnt say anything. He cleared his throat and said "listen I have been think and I think you should know how to shoot."

Hayley stared at him and then started laughing "absolutely not."

Klaus said "I don't want something like what happened the other day happen again."

Hayley stared at him for a second, her mind telling her that he was right. She needs to learn how to shoot to defend herself or Hope if something like that happens again in future so and she nodded. They continued to talk about their day affairs. Klaus told her that there was no progress in locating who attacked Hayley but his captain has put two guards outside the door and that they were to accompany her anywhere she went without him until Joe finds out how attacked her.

After dinner they watched some tv while she snuggled against him to his surprise. Out of blue feelings started to arouse in him. He kissed her hair and said "I am glad you are feeling better."

Hayley held his hand, said "how could I not be with you being there for me all the time."

He smiled and then turned off the tv and kissed her neck whispering "lets go to bed."

She looked in his eyes, the way his lips had caressed her, the way her hands were inching towards her breast, she smiled and nodded, he scooped her up and took her to their bedroom. He closed the door, laid her on the bed and made love to her. After that they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

Next morning when he was about to leave he said to her "come to my station at around 12. We can do some shooting practice while Alexis can watch over Hope. You can have my car while I will take the other car."

Hayley asked him in surprise "what other car?"

Klaus smiled, took a sip of the coffee and said "I bought a new car day yesterday. I thought you needed to be independent so I bought a car for myself and you can have my jeep or if you want you can have the new car."

Hayley said "no, I am fine with the jeep."

Klaus asked curiously "aren't you interested which car I bought?"

She looked at him with amused smile and said "tell me?"

Klaus laughed and said "I can definitely rule out the money as a motive for you to get married to me."

Hayley laughed and said "you thought that!"

When he didnt say anything but continued to look at her with that smile of his that always melted her heart she asked "your mother?!"

Klaus said "jaguar. Come to think of it. Why dont you keep that one? If I take that to the station, some angry person might put a dent on it."

Hayley looked at him for a moment realizing that he didnt want to talk about it so she laughed softly and said "okay". He kissed her and left for work.

At noon she entered the station and told the front desk that she was there to meet Klaus. She was shown to the visiting room when Alexis met them. Hope ran to Klaus who picked her up, kissed her and said "hey mommy and I have to do something, can you stay with Alexis over here for sometime. She is really good in drawing and stories."

Hope looked at Alexis. Said "thank you. We will not be long."

Alexis said smiling "take your time. It is good that you are learning to shoot properly. I hope you dont have to use it but if something like what happened a few days ago happens again you need to be ready."

Hayley smiled now feeling nervous but nodded and looked towards Klaus who put Hope down and took Hayley to the shooting ranger in the basement whereas Alexis stayed with Hope.

He gave her the gun and the headphones to block the sound of the gun. and then said "

He stood behind Hayley with one hand across her body and guided her arm to the gun and told her "First rule, try to not kill your attacker, just hurt him really bad unless you really have to kill him or her for that matter" gripping Hayley's heart in her fist. He then said "now look at that middle circle on the line of the fire. That is your target. Keep your shoulder tighten, arms straight but not tight and press the trigger."

Hayley listened to him carefully but at the same time she could hear his breathing near her ear and that was just distracting her. He shifted his hand on her right hand and took his finger to her fingers on the trigger and gently pressed it. She felt the jerk but his body shielded her from falling back. She looked at the target while Klaus suddenly realized how close they were standing. He moved his lips close to her ear, removed the headphone from her ear and said sofly "that was a good aim. Lets try again."

This time he was very well aware of their closeness and Hayley could feel the warm breath against her neck while he could feel the warmth of her back snuggled against his torso, his arms over her arm, his hand over her hand, his ear near her ear. She gasped "Klaus, I cannot concentrate…"

He laughed softly and said "really! I thought I was the only one feeling this way."

He leaned in and gently planted a kiss on her neck making her jump and press the trigger. There was a loud boom and she spun towards Klaus; their lips inches apart. Klaus stole his gaze from her eyes and looked towards the target and started to laugh out of control as he saw the bullet hole in the wall; several inches outside the target.

She pushed him away angrily and said "look what you made me do. I was…" but then she started to blush and feel flustered. She gave him the gun, took off the headphones angrily and said "very funny. Definitely I dont want you around me anywhere if ever I have to shoot again."

As she marched away from him, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, kissed her gently on her lips and said "that was a really good first lesson. Cannot wait to have the next one."

Hayley knew that the smile was about to sneak onto her lips so she pushed him away hoping that she can maintain the annoyance at him and said "in your dream." and walked away. He followed her still laughing.

Hayley picked up Hope from the visiting room where she was drawing with Alexis. She thanked Alexis and turned towards Klaus who was still amused by what had happened downstairs. He nodded so Hayley left.

Klaus went to his seat with a smile on his lips.

Alexis said with a smile "I have never seen you this happy Klaus. I think Hayley is a good influence on you. I really like her. Truth be told more then Caroline. There is something about her that makes me want to be her friend. By the way how is she doing? She looks incredible for someone going through chemo and treatment."

Klaus smiled and said "she is very brave and strong willed person. I would love you two to be friends so that Alex and I can have some male bonding time too."

He looked at his file thinking about what Alexis has said about him being happy and he realized that she was right. He was happy. He was content. He had not thought about Caroline for a few weeks now. He tried to recall in the past six months when was he was truly content with his life, with Caroline and with their relationship, but sadly he couldn't.

He smiled, looked up and caught her looking at him.

For the next few days Hayley came to his station around noon and did some target shooting practice while Alexis babysat Hope in the visiting room. Klaus noticed she was getting really good. The only regret he had was that he couldn't hold her any longer now that she was starting to hold her arm straight and her aim was improving too. He noticed Hayley was getting very relaxed with him and would smile and laugh more spontaneously like he had seen her doing with Elijah. With each passing day the distance between them was decreasing, they were opening to each other more although he was still waiting for the day when she will tell him about what happened after that night five years ago, what made her run away, why was her report not followed up but he was willing to wait for her to bring up the topic. Where his heart was getting lighter and that night was becoming a forgotten night, his heart was still heavy with the secret that she still didn't know about his werwolf secret and that was just making him nervous. He knew in his heart that that secret will be the end of their relationship but he was hoping that Hope's sake she will give it a try when he will tell her. She was getting better with her nausea but her hair were falling a lot and he was seeing how scared she was that he will not see her same way he used to. Even though he had told her many times that losing hair will not change their relationship but he was unable to convince her. He knew that when will lose her hair he in for a rough ride with her but until then he did the only thing he could do and that was to be with her when she felt depressed; he held her tight and let her know that he was there for her.

Friday night she was feeling really down with the day she had so she asked him after dinner "have you even been to the movies?"

Klaus looked at the fatigue on her face and said "yes, you want to go?"

Hayley looked at Hope yawing and said "yes, Hope will go to sleep in a few minutes so we can watch a movie."

Klaus looked at Hope whose eyes were already drooping and nodded.

Thirty minute later when they entered the theater, Hope had already gone to sleep. Klaus put her across his shoulder and looked at the title and then they both randomly selected "American Sniper" and he bought the tickets. They sat next to each other which Hope in his lap and his arm around her.

Klaus looked towards her and then into the rearview mirror and smiled as he saw that Hayley and Hope went to sleep on the way back from the movies. Klaus had a smile on his lips as he recalled the nice movie he had watched with Hope and Hayley. He looked toward Hope in the rearview mirror and almost laughed as he remembered how she had gone to sleep as soon as the movie had started true to Hayley's prediction. He looked towards Hayley and felt happy remembering how she had enjoyed the movie. He put on the soft music in low volume so as not to disturb her. He suddenly noticed a car in the ditch near the road. He slowed the car till it stopped. His training and sense of responsibility took over and he decided to go check them. Klaus looked at Hayley and shook her.

Hayley opened her eyes and asked sleepily "what?"

Klaus said "there is an accident on the road. I am going to check it out. Here is the gun. Dont use it unless you absolutely have to. Try to aim at the leg or the arm."

Hayley nodded and looked at Hope sleeping in the back seat.

he got out and said "lock the door and dont open for anyone. Even for me if you think it is not safe."

Hayley looked at him in confusion but nodded.

She locked the car and looked at him with apprehension heading towards the car in the ditch.

He waved at her after a few minute as he pulled a man out of the car.

Hayley leaned forward to look at them when she saw a man jump at Klaus from behind. She saw Klaus fell on the ground and to her shock he was suddenly surrounded by at least five men. She looked around towards the back seat and saw Hope sleeping. She saw as Klasu stood up, looked towards the car and shook his head. He dodged as one man lunged at him but another one jabbed him in the stomach with his elbow. As Hayley saw a third guy kicked him hard on his face as he was already doubled over by that jab. Klaus doubled over with pain growled, looked up not knowing that his eyes were gleaming yellow held his attacker from his neck and lifted him in the air making Hayley's eye widen in shock.

Klaus threw his attacker away from him and turned but yelled as he felt piercing pain in his stomach. Hayley jumped on her seat and got out of the car without thinking. She locked the car and ran to the group. She shouted "stop or else I will shoot."

Klaus groaned, pulled the stake out of his stomach and looked at Hayley holding the gun in her hand but then his heart stopped as he saw his first attacker bar his teeth revealing his fangs. Before he could move, he whooshed to Hayley and took the gun from her hand twisting her in his grasp and a second later Klaus yelled as his fangs sunk into Hayley's neck.

He didn't know what happened but he growled and twisted on his spot and kicked the man on his left and then the man lunging at him from the front. He looked around and saw Hayley's body unconscious on the ground with the vampire doubled over next to her. Klaus ran to Hayley and checked her pulse and sighed with relief. He then pushed the vampire on the ground and wondered 'what happened to him?'

He asked harshly "who are you?"

He said hoarsely "her blood is contaminated. She killed me."

Klaus barred his teeth and said viciously "good. who are you? Why did you attack us?"

he said coughing blood "I… " but he stopped breathing to Klaus's shock he had died.

He stood up, carried Hayley to the car and drove to his apartment wondering 'has her blood killed a vampire? but why?" And then it hit him _'it was her cancer that killed that vampire.'_

He smiled and looked at Hayley but then the smile slipped from his lips as he saw the blood seeping from her neck.


	17. Chapter 17 Under a cloud

**_A/N: thank you for the wonderful reviews. Shane, definitely Hayley and Klaus will think about using that cover story for Hope but …. will explain in next chapter lol sorry cannot disclose it right now. Candace thank you. that is really a big compliment for me. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story too. It will take some time for Klaus to find out what Caroline is up to but until then you have to bear her lol. The big question whether Hayley will trigger her gene or not will be answered in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it._**

**_Synopsis: The aftermath of the attack on them will change Klaus and Hayley's life. _**

* * *

><p>He put his foot on the break causing the car to stop with a loud screech. He checked her neck, her heartbeat and exhaled with relief as he realized that she was okay. As his fingers were on her pulse it hit him <em>'she killed someone'<em> .

He groaned as he realized what was going to happen. He wondered _'should he go back and check that vampire?' _but then he looked at her and decided to take her home feel apprehensive about how he can explain all that to her.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Klaus pacing in the room looking worried.

He was thinking how will he explain it all to her when he looked towards her and saw her awake. He went to her and said anxiously "hey hey, are you okay?"

Hayley sat up immediately and said "what happened?" and then she remembered the fangs and them sinking in her neck. She touched her neck and saw the bandage over there.

Klaus noticed the panic on her face. He held her hand sand said "breathe, please breathe. You are okay".

Hayley said panicking "Klaus that man, he bit me. He had fangs. what is going on? and you got hit too."

She pulled his shirt up and stared at his healed torso. She slowly looked up and said slowly "I saw you getting hurt. I know I saw that."

Klaus ran his fingers through his hair and said "Hayley what I am about to tell you please listen to it with open mind."

Hayley felt a sinking feeling in her stomach but nodded.

Klaus took a deep breath and started telling her about everything about himself, his family's curse and the supernatural world in New Orleans. He felt her hand slip from his hand and confusion appear on her face. His heart sank but he continued to tell her everything. When he finally got quiet, Hayley stared at him for a few seconds and then said incredulously "you are joking right? Werewolves, vampires, witches they are not real."

Klaus looked into her eyes and said "Hayley I assure you that this is all truth. I would never have kept you in dark when I asked you to marry me but I was only thinking about Hope and I knew if you knew about it you would never have agreed."

Hayley stared at him, shook her head and said again "no, Klaus. this is not happening."

Klaus sighed and said "I can prove you that I am telling the truth. Elijah didn't believe at first, but I showed it to him and then he believed me. Hayley, you have to believe me, all i didnt was to keep you and Hope safe."

Hayley stared at him and said angrily "you want me to believe in this….in you without questioning it. well I cannot. this is all so ridiculous. Werewolves, vampires it is all a myth."

Klaus said "no, I dont want you to stop asking me questions but I want you to believe that I will never put you or Hope in harms way and will always be honest with you but if I have not been then you should know that there must be some reason for it."

Hayley looked at him and said dismissively "Klaus, you hid the biggest secret of your life which I am not even sure is true and believe it just like that."

Klaus stood up and walked out of the room. He came back with a knife in his hand. He sat next to her and put the knife edge on his arm when she held his hand asked angrily "what the hell are you doing?"

Klaus said "making you believe in me."

She stared into his eyes and could only see sincerity. Her mind was really confused, She looked at the knife in his hand and then looked up again. She said angrily "dont be an idiot. Give this to me" She took the knife from his hand angrily and stood up. She started pacing in the room anxiously and said in confusion "I don't believe it. This is not happening to me. This is not happening."

Klaus looked at the confusion, anxiety on her face and knew at once that he had lost something there. He got up slowly and wondered _'should he tell her that she is a werewolf too?'_

He ran his fingers through his hair and said "Hayley, when I first found out that I was a werewolf I was worried but then Mason…" at the confused look on her face he said "my uncle helped me to come to terms with it. Then I found out about you and… Hope".

He noticed her gaze shifting to him shapely and he saw the realization dawn on her as she shook her head. He got up, stepped towards her and held her by her biceps even as she stepped back from him and continued "I am sorry Hayley, Marcel told me that if one parent has the werewolf gene then there is a slight chance that child will get the gene too but if both the parents… " he stopped talking when Hayley said in confusion "what?"

Klaus said softly thinking of the vampire she had killed "Hayley you are an untriggered werewolf."

Hayley looked at him as if he had lost his mind. She said angrily "_now _you are totally crazy. First you tell me that you are a werewolf and now you are saying I am one too."

Klaus looked at her for a few seconds, then took the knife from her hand without warning and slashed his arm. Hayley screamed, snatched the knife from his hand and said angrily "what is wrong with you? are you crazy?" as she walked towards the bathroom and got a towel for him.

Klaus said "Hayley you would never have believed it if you had not seen it with your own eyes."

He took the towel from her hand and dabbed it on his skin.

Hayley stared at him and said "I want to believe you but you have to understand how ridiculous this sounds."

Klaus said "yes, I know that. That is why I need you to understand what is going on; what you and Hope are._ You cannot trigger your or Hope's gene. I will never let that happen._" He pushed the thought of the vampire who had fed on her from his mind and decided to talk to Marcel about it.

Hayley looked at his determined face and got confused further. She asked desperately "you are not lying?"

Klaus wiped the blood from his arm and showed it to her. Hayley looked at his arm and gasped as she saw the wound completely healed. As he saw she stepped back from him with terror on her face his heart sank.

He said desperately "I know you are scared of me but dont be. I am human for 29 days of the month. It is just one night when I turn and you will never see me in that form I promise. I will never harm you. Believe me I am same. nothing is changed."

Hayley said in a shaky voice "what are you talking about Klaus. You are a werewolf. Not human."

Klaus said "no Hayley I am part human. I am alive as compared to vampires who are undead. I will age slowly and will eventually die. I just turn to a wolf once a month and I can heal but I can die. Let me assure you _if I can die then I am human_."

When she continued to stare at him with that fear in her eyes he ran his fingers through this hair and said "listen I know it is a lot to take. I want you to think about it and if you dont want to spend you life with me I will understand but please don't take Hope away from me. She needs her father. You and I both know that she needs stability in her life, especially now with your health condition. You yourself told me that you married me for Hope so please think about her before making any decision about me."

He turned towards the bathroom when she asked him "how do you know I am a untriggered…." she couldnt finish the sentence as she realized how ridiculous it sounded to her ears.

Klaus turned towards her and said "The Crescent birth mark on your shoulder, the day we consummated our marriage vow…." he paused for her to acknowledge the incidence. When she nodded he continued "That mark is only on a particular brand of wolves. I have seen that mark on Hope's shoulder too."

Hayley asked curiously "what do you mean?"

Klaus said "Crescent pack belongs in this city. The one I was telling you about. I knew you are adopted." At confusion on her face he said "Caroline told me. Your parents are friends with aunt Carol and she is friends with Liz, Caroline's mother so that much I know about you. Any way when I saw the mark and knowing the history of that mark it was not hard for me to believe considering what I myself was going through. I don't know the details about your pack. I just know that your pack, the werewolf family you belong to, is cursed. They remain in wolf form for the whole month except for the full moon night and the day following it. Kind of opposed to a regular werewolf. I have seen them in the bayou."

Hayley asked alarmed now "what? You saw them in human form or wolf?"

Klaus said casually "both. There are few who are still untriggered; have the gene but they are not werwolves yet. They will only become wolves if they trigger the gene so they are not affected by the curse."

When she didnt say anything he went to change his clothes whereas she stood there still trying to absorb what he had told her.

When the door opened she stepped back instinctively which didnt go unnoticed by Klaus. He said sarcastically "I guess your other fear has been replaced by a new one."

He went to his side of the bed and fell on it face down. A couple of minute later he looked around but she was not there and the bathroom door was open so he guessed she had gone to Hope's room. He was unable to sleep throughout the night knowing well that she never came to the bed.

Hayley laid that night in Hope's bed thinking about what he had told her. She brushed her fingers on Hope's shoulder where she know a similar birthmark rested. By morning she was still confused and her mind was still not accepting what he had told her. One thing she was quite certain was that she couldn't possibly live her life or for that matter let Hope live with a person who thinks that he is a werewolf- turns to a wolf once a month. She got up and went to their room but the bed was already made up and he was gone. She was about to turn when she saw a piece of paper on her bed. She walked to it and picked it up and started reading it

_"__I am sorry for springing this new thing in your life. I understand if you don't want to spend your life with me. I know it is Saturday but I have been called in. We will talk about it in the afternoon. You make sure you take your medicines, rest and eat properly."_

Her eyes suddenly got blurry and she wondered _'what is she doing? He cares about her and Hope and she … At least give him a chance. Try to understand him. She has been living with him for almost a month now. Nothing indicated that he is any different from an normal human. If what he is saying is truth then he was a werewolf when she married him. She just didn't know. Now she knows. But if all of this is farce then she should be there to help him get to terms with whatever he is going through."_

She folded the paper and went to her side of the bed and put it in the drawer.

Around noon Klaus said to Alexis "I have something to take care of. Will be back in an hour."

After Alexis nodded Klaus left the station. He got in his own car not the official car and started it. Twenty minute later he was walking towards the office of Joseph Barton hoping that he was in the office. He banged the door open causing Barton to look up at him curiously. He walked to him angrily and hissed after putting his palms on his desk "if I ever find out you are behind the attack to my family I will make sure you will never live to see another day. You should know that werewolf's bite is lethal to vampires."

Joseph leaned back causally and said "I know. Why don't you take a seat and tell me what has happened?"

Klaus stared at him and then moved back but said angrily "me and my family were attacked _again _last night. My wife was attacked in our home a couple of days ago. Everything started ever since I found out about you."

Joseph said "I would never attack your family. You captain grilled me for the last attack too and I was cleared. Why would I attack your family again when I am already under suspicion and secondly If I have bone to pick with you I will take out on you…"

Klaus cut him off by saying "you are dirty. I know you are dirty."

Joseph said "you looked into my cases."

Klaus said "yes."

Joseph said "then you must know why I compelled my clients."

Klaus said "I don't understand. If you wanted them to be committed then why even take them to court."

Joseph said smiling "I have to trick the system. Cannot very well get myself suspicious. So I start a case and then in the middle I compel either the prosecutor to ask a question that would jeopardize my case or my client to tell the truth. But let me tell you I have nothing to do with the attacks that you are talking bout."

Klaus stared at him angrily and then left.

When he got back to the station Joe walked to him grinning ear to ear and said "hey Mikaelson we caught the guy that attacked your family."

Klaus asked excitedly "what who was he?"

Joe said "some low life. Did some time in system for stealing. We matched his finger prints to the one we found on your bedroom door."

Klaus asked angrily "why did he attack my family?"

Joe said "Ben and I questioned him. He said that some one contacted him and gave him twenty thousand dollars to scare your wife. They told him exactly what to say so and how to do it. I dont think he knows what was going on."

Klaus nodded and said "so what are you going to do?"

Joe said "we don't have anywhere to begin with Klaus. He has nothing for us. Whoever contacted him asked him to burn the instructions and he did. But we will keep on digging but as of now the threat to your family is dealt with."

Klaus said "thanks Joe."

He walked to his chair when Ben motioned him to come to his office.

As he entered Ben said "close the door."

After Klaus closed the door he said "Klaus I am going to pull the detail from you house for two reasons. One, Joe must have told you that we caught the guy. Second, cops guarding the house of a wolf will start to suspect something sooner or later considering you have started visiting the bayou and all."

Klaus asked "how do you know?"  
>Ben said "I am involved in supernatural world for a reason Klaus. I know it is natural for you to want to connect to those cursed wolves but just be careful."<p>

Klaus said "I will be" got up and left.

In the evening Klaus got caught in work so by the time he got home, lights were off but the table was still laid. He went to his room feeling thoroughly depressed for the first time since he had found out about Hayley's cancer. He stopped when he saw her sleeping on their bed. He went to bed feeling somewhat relaxed wondering '_has she accepted him?'_ but then didn't dwell on it for too long and fell asleep.

Next morning when he got up he looked at her sleeping next to him and then decided to go to work too to spend some personal time trying to figure out who attacked hem on the way back from the movies. For some reason he was convinced that that attack was linked to the attack on Hayley. He left even before she got up not knowing that she had woken up in the middle of night, stayed awake for a long time looking at him feeling afraid of him.

He took out his cell on the way to his work and called Marcel. He told him everything about the attack omitting the bite mark that the vampire gave Hayley and her carrying the werewolf gene. After he was done telling him he said "I want you to find out who were they and why did they attack us?"

Marcel said "tell me some more details about them. Which road were you attacked on?"

Klaus said "Birmingham Ave around 10 at night 12th May. Call me when you find out something."

After disconnecting he got out of his car and went in the station.

He was drinking coffee while going through Joseph Barton's files again when he got a call from Caroline. He felt relived to hear her voice and said spontaneously "I miss hearing your voice sometimes."

Caroline laughed and said "that is nice because I miss you too but _what can I do_, you ditched me and married _Hayley_."

Klaus said sighing "I told you why we couldnt get married, Caroline. It would never have worked out."

Caroline said "it would have if you have given it a chance. Any way what is done is done. You have married her so tell me are you happy?"

Klaus thought about the last couple of days and then about the whole month with Hayley and said "yes I am."

He paused for a second, hesitated as he looked around and said "I have told her Caroline."

Caroline asked curiously "about what?"

Klaus said after slight hesitation "about me being a.… you know."

Caroline asked him in an alarmingly high voice "what?! _can she be trusted with this secret?"_

Klaus was so taken aback by that sentence that he felt lost for words for a moment and then said calmly and slowly "if I can trust _you_ with my secret then why not _Hayley?_ She is after all my wife."

There was a silence and then he heard her say "no I meant… " there was a pause and then she continued "you just got married to her. She might have gotten scared. You know she is just a human and she might run away."

Klaus thought about Hayley's reaction. A frown appeared on his forehead but he said "no, she will not run away. It will take some time to adjust to the news but things will be okay. I am sure of it."

He thought for a moment whether to tell her about Hayley being a wolf or not but then decided against it.

Caroline said "what do you mean adjust to the news? did she react badly?"

Klaus's trained hearing picked up a glee in her tone but he ignored it thinking _'that is not possible' and _said "yes she was shocked but like I said things will get back on track."

He couldn't help but feel as if she had changed the topic when she said "when are you coming to Mystic Falls?"

Klaus said "in a couple of weeks. Let her get comfortable with this new development. A lot has been happening ever since we got married. I think we should spend some time to get used to new life, new turn of events. I want Hayley to meet my family."

He smiled when she said excitedly "okay good. I am looking forward to your visit. Even though you didn't end things amicably with me but I want us to remain friends. Hey how about a party for you and Hayley? A kind of a reception. You didn't have any right? Hayley would love to see a lavish party. I am sure she has_ never seen a party like that._"

Klaus stared at the pen in his hand hearing the sarcasm in her tone and realized that he was getting annoyed by her condescending manner so he snapped "Caroline stop being condescending towards Hayley. If you don't have anything nice to say about her then don't say anything at all."

Caroline stared into the phone, cursed Hayley but said at once in a sweet voice "I am not being condescending. I was just saying that she will like my party. Why would you say that I am being condescending?"

Klaus rubbed his forehead and said apologetically "I am sorry. There has been a lot going on and I took out on you. I am sorry."

Caroline said gritting her teeth hoping he does not notice the hatred for Hayley in her voice "it is okay."

Klaus said "I have to go now. Will talk later."

Later that evening while he was driving home he got a call from Marcel who said "You didnt tell me that one vampire got hurt in that attack. He is still alive but something has happened to him. He is constant pain. He dies but comes back. The only way to kill a vampire is to put a stake in his heart."

Klaus thought with a sigh of relief _'oh so he was not death, just unconscious when he thought he had died.'_

Klaus asked "what do you mean?"

Marcel said "I don't know it seems that he drank some contaminated blood which is killing him gradually. Do you have any idea?"

Klaus hesitated said "yes, he drank from someone who has cancer."

Marcel exclaimed "what? how?"

Klaus said "Hayley. but lets keep it between us."

He thought for a moment and said "so what are you going to do with him?"

Marcel said "if his condition deteriorates further then put him out of his misery."

Klaus sat up straight and asked "what do you mean?"

Marcel said "kill him of course."

Klaus half wished that he could tell him to do so but he could only say "hmm".

When he was about to cut him off he asked "hey another question. Werewolf mythology related."

Marcel said "I cannot help you in that field but sure. Why not? Ask away."

Klaus asked "how does a werewolf trigger his gene?"

Marcel said "if you kill someone intentionally or accidentally."

Klaus nodded and asked "that much I know but that someone has to be human or anyone? what if it is a vampire, a witch or another werewolf?"

Marcel said after a moment of silence "for sure killing a human and a witch. Nature created them and they cannot come back from death. Werewolves I am not sure. Vampire for sure not. They are already considered dead so gene cannot be triggered on them. Why are you asking all these things now? You have already triggered your gene."

Klaus raced his mind to come up with a logical reason and then said "my family. I need to know everything about werwolves. Can you find that out for me too?"

He then added "okay got to go."

He disconnected thanking his luck that she will not trigger her gene even if that vampire dies of her blood but he also made up his mind that he will check on that vampire again and if he is still alive he will kill him himself so there is no risk about her triggering her gene.

When he got home, his mind was buzzing with what Caroline had said to him about Hayley running away and for the first time ever since he had told her his secret he started to think along those lines. His heart sank as he looked down at Hope while she snuggled close to him and giggled as she watched cartoons. His thoughts were interrupted when Hayley called them for dinner. During the dinner he told Hayley about the detail being pulled from the apartment and the suspect being caught. He felt relieved to see relief on her face. The rest of the dinner was a rather quieter affair with only Hope talking to either of them. After dinner as usual they both put Hope in her bed and for the time being it felt as if that werewolf conversation never happened between them.

For the next couple of days thing were awkward between them. During this time Klaus started to notice that whenever they were alone, Hayley was scared of him so he started to stay longer at the office trying to catch as many cases as he could to Alexis's annoyance while breathing down on Joe's neck as the captain had given him the case of the intruder who had attacked Hayley. At home he tried to be there for her when she needed him but other then that he maintained a distance between them while Caroline's words continued to haunt him at the back of his mind.

Hayley on the other hand observed him distancing himself from her by spending a lot of time on the work. She realized that she was pushing him away but her heart and mind were confusing her. She had noticed that he only talked to her when she started a conversation or when he was asking about Hope or her health condition. In a weird way the more he was distancing himself from her the more she was starting to believe him and her heart was sinking with this realization. Even the possibility that he was a werewolf and she was an untriggered one was too unbelievable to her. Reluctantly she started to do her research on werwolves and what she found just made her heart sink further and his story more believable. She was getting surer day by day that he was not lying to her and definitely not delusional; her earlier belief. She wondered _'how can she live her life with a werewolf who turns into a beast every month' _but then remembered that she herself is a beast too. She recalled his determination and fierceness with which he had said to her that he will never let her trigger her gene. Everything was very confusing to her. She realized to her surprise that she was missing him, even though they lived in the same apartment, slept within inches of each other but there was a wall between them. But she observed that even with this relationship gap, he was very persistent in taking care of her. Her diet, rest, medicines. He still held her head, stroked her back gently when she was bent over the toilet throwing up or didn't have energy to get up from bed, made sure she took her medicines, helped her in the kitchen and around the house. The only things that were missing was that he was not there to hold her hand when she didn't need it and those casual caressing kisses on her lips and cheeks. All of that care he was showing her was warming her heart to him and telling her to give him a chance.

Klaus noticed that she was really puzzled by all of this but he knew he couldnt do anything about it. The cat was out of the bag and it was now up to Hayley to decide how to deal with it. He acknowledged that she was making an effort even after knowing everything about him. He had a suspicion that she didnt believe it. Part of him wanted her never to believe in him but the other part- the logical one was telling him, the earlier she starts to believe him the better will it be for their relationship and her and Hope's future. He waited every day for her to ask any question related to what he had told her but she never did.

**_Five days later she found out about him_**

Klaus put the full foot pressure on the brake causing the car to stop with a screech and jumped out. He looked up at the burning building and then looked around and spotted a woman crying and screaming "my baby".

He ran to her and said "which floor?"

Alexis ran to him and said "fire department is on the way. A minute max." As the woman said "2b".

Klaus looked around and then before Alexis could stop him he ran towards the building.

Hayley was reading a book sitting on Hope's bed as she slept when she heard the front door open. She smiled in-spite of what has been going on between them and looked up towards the door but he didnt appear so she suddenly got scared as she remembered the attack. She walked to the door and then went to the master bedroom. He was taking off his shirt when he sensed her. He turned around towards her and smiled saying "hey."

Hayley felt a tightening in her stomach at the sight of the bird tattoo on his shoulder but before she could say anything she smelled it. She asked sniffing her nose and gulping the nausea she felt at that smell "what is that smell?"

Klaus said casually "oh, smoke. I saved a baby from the burning fire."

Hayley rushed to him and said "you okay?"

Klaus smiled at her concern and said "yes I am love."

She looked at him at the use of this word but continued "what happened? Is the baby okay?"

Klaus nodded and said "we got lucky today."

Hayley felt terror seize at her heart but she said in a calm and steady voice "I am glad that you are okay. Dinner?"

When he nodded she left the room to hide the shaking of her hands. He went to Hope's room and saw that she was asleep. All of a sudden felt really guilty at spending so less time with her these days and decided that even though things were awkward between him and Hayley he should change his routine for Hope's sake. He kissed her on there forehead whispered "good night love" and left her room.

When he went to the kitchen for dinner he saw her standing with bent head and hands on the counter. He rushed to her thinking she was not feeling well and held her shoulder and turned her towards him saying "Hayley are you…" but stopped as he saw tears on her cheek.

He got alarmed and asked "what happened?"

Hayley looked up, wiped her tears and said shaking her head "nothing. I just get scared sometimes. If something happens to you then what will happen to Hope. Your family already hates me so why would they be okay with Hope?!"

Klaus said "listen nothing will happen to me_ or you_. I know my job can get dangerous sometimes but I am fine."

He paused for a second and then added "look at the bright side of being a werewolf I can heal on my own."

Hayley looked at him, smiled and said "lets go have dinner. I have already given Hope and she has gone to sleep."

Klaus sighed and asked "are we not going to talk about it Hayley?"

Hayley looked at him and said "yes we will. Just give me more time, please."

Klaus nodded and sat on the dinner table and they ate their food quietly; both of them regretting the distance between them.

Next morning at work he felt relieved that he was so busy that he was able to keep the haunting thought of full moon around the corner. While heading to home, he called Marcel deciding to check on that vampire. He realized at that moment that even though Marcel had told him that Hayley will not trigger her gene by killing a vampire he was still have doubts. Somehow the thought of her triggering her gene was more disturbing to him then his own. As the call connected he asked him "what happened with that vampire Marcel?"

Marcel said "Oh I staked him the day we talked. He was getting worse. So put the poor man out of his misery."

Klaus took a sigh of relief and said "okay good. We was worried that she killed a vampire."

Marcel laughed and said "no she didn't. Vampires don't die that easily.

After putting the cell down he drove towards his apartment feeling light after many days.

When he reached home Hope was up. It brought a smile on his lips as she squealed excitedly at spotting him and ran into his out stretched arms. He picked her up, kissed her on her cheek and said "let me wash my face and then we can watch…" he looked towards the TV, smiled and said "Dora".

He looked up as he sensed eyes on him and caught her looking at him with a smile on her lips. He smiled, asked "how are you feeling?"

Hayley said "good. Those medicines are helping my nausea. Almost none now."

He nodded, sat Hope on the sofa and went to freshen himself.

Hayley was busy in the kitchen when she heard him ask "so tell me what is going on?"

She looked around and realized that he was talking to Hope.

Hope looked up at him, got on his lap and started excitedly telling him the story of the episode she was watching and that is how Hayley saw them. She walked to them with a smile and sat next to him and said "Hope, go wash your hand for dinner."

As Hope got off his lap and ran to the bathroom, she turned to him, cleared her throat and said "I am starting to look at all of this with an open mind Klaus but it will take me some time to totally comprehend it. You have to be patient with me like you have already been. It is not that I have started to hate you or anything, it is just something I have never thought of even in my wildest dream. Give me some time to digest."

Klaus said in serious tone "I know Hayley how difficult it is to believe in it. I didnt believe in it myself until i felt my first bone break…." he stopped talking as Hope came running back and showed them their hands saying "look" and then to Klaus's amusement she pushed her hand to his nose and said excitedly "smell, strawberries."

Klaus laughed, picked her up swinging her in the air sending her in a fit of laughter and Hayley feeling warm towards him.

Dinner was a pleasant affair. During the dinner even though she tried to maintain a normal conversation but he knew that even though she said that she was going to have an open mind about all of this but he could see that she was looking at him differently, but sadly he could not do anything about it.

Hayley was lying on the bed reading a book wondering_ 'where he was and what was taking him so long. Was he avoiding her or stuck at work_.' She looked at the words on the book absentmindedly and then told herself "stop being so paranoid. It must be work" and smiled immediately at the sound of front door opening. A couple of seconds later he entered the room but before she could say anything he went to the walking closet and came back after a few seconds with a bag-pack in his hand and said "Hayley, I will come in the morning. Don't open the door for anyone."

Hayley asked him in surprise "where are you going? you have not had dinner yet."

Klaus said reluctantly "it is full moon and as for dinner I had something in the office. I have to go."

Hayley stared at him and said "Klaus I…"

Klaus smiled but Hayley noticed that the smile didn't reach his eyes and said "I understand Hayley. You are scared and disgusted but that is the reality you and I both have to face. You are trying and I appreciate that. Any way I have to go right now. Moon is about to come out. We can talk about it when I come back."

He turned and left before she could say anything else whereas she felt terrible, guilty for behaving the way and made up her mind that she would talk to him in the morning when he will come back.

She was thinking about him when out of blue the thought that he was running among wild animals just scared her and she felt anxious for him. She started pacing in the room and it hit her; hit her very hard that she was actually believing him. She started to question her sanity but then she reminded herself of the surety with which he had told her about the full moon and how he had healed not once but twice right in front of her. She sat on the bed as an image of him standing near Caroline sprang to her mind and her asking whose blood was it but he dismissed it by saying it was person who he tackled. Somehow she was sure now that it was his blood. And then another thought occurred to her _'so Caroline knew about him?!' _

Her heart sank at this realization that he trusted Caroline with this information before telling her. She laid on the bed and fell asleep thinking about random things.

She was deep in sleep when suddenly her eyes opened and she startled as she saw a figure move in the room in the night light of the room. A scream was about to escape her throat when he hastily said "hey hey it is me" grabbing her hand and squeezing it gently. He was surprised to realize that he could hear her heartbeat.

Hayley took a sigh of relief and said "you scared me" impulsively hugging him and continued saying "you are okay!"

Klaus felt a weird sensation and said "of course I am okay. Why would you think I am not okay?".

He separated her from him but she held him tight. He put his hand on her back and exclaimed "Hayley?!"

Hayley let him go, looked at him and said "I am sorry for acting this way. I want to tell you this again even though I told before that I will look at this with open mind that I believe you. We are in this together. For better and worse right? I am with you till the end."

He said with as sigh of relief "yes we are in this together".

He then said "I will be back after taking a quick shower."

When she nodded, smiled at him he got up and went to the bathroom. He took a quick shower and came to lie next to him. After a few minutes he felt her hand slip into his hand which brought a smile to his lips. He turned to her and said "I am feeling really hungry. I need to eat something. It happens after every full moon. You go to sleep. I will be back in a few minutes."

He got up and went to the kitchen. He turned around as he heard a sound and saw her standing there too surprising him. He asked "why aren't you sleeping?"

Hayley said "tell me about the transformation? When did you turn to a wolf? How are you balancing that secret in your life, at your work place?"

Klaus put the left over pasta in the plate, put it in the microwave and started telling Hayley about everything about that night and his cover story with Ben.

By the time he was done if she had any doubts they were removed. He finished his dinner while she sat quietly looking at him wondering '_what was she going to do.'_

He got up, put the plate in the sink and said "Hayley I know how it must sound to you and I understand your hesitation and doubts but I wish I could help you. I just want to say something."

When she looked at him questioningly he said "you have been _so much_ and you face everything so bravely I am confident that you can deal with this one too."

When she smiled and said "yes I will." he said "lets go sleep. I will be going to work late tomorrow but I have to go so lets go and sleep."

For the next two days after Klaus came back home from work, they had nice family dinner, he played with Hope while Hayley cleaned up in the kitchen, they put her to bed and then they would sit in the living room and talk late into the night. Their main topic of conversation was wolves and their mythologies. He was really impressed by the way Hayley was handling all of this proving her prediction about she would get through this crisis of her life too true. They talked about their new identities and went into depth about what could it mean for their future. It was a great relief to him to see her accepting the reality of the situation and taking things in stride.

Later one night after putting Hope to bed as they both left her room, she grabbed his arm and said "I want to meet Marcel. You said he is a vampire. I want to see what a vampire looks like. I want to learn how to deal with all of those whom we are potentially going to interact with in future. Tomorrow is Saturday. Can you call him somewhere so that we can meet him? The reason is that I want your supernatural friends to know about your family too and I want to get to know them too. And I want to meet my … " she hesitated for a moment and then asked "pack…" when he nodded she continued "so I want to meet my pack too when ever they are human."

Klaus looked at her and thought '_he was already planning to visit Marcel so why not tag Hayley along and she is right. Marcel needs to meet Hayley and Hope if ever time comes and he needs his assistance in any way."_

He said "just think about it before making a final decision Hayley. Once you step into that world there is no stepping back."

Hayley said "I am already in it Klaus" while turning to go to the room.

Klaus stared at her back, sighed and went to the bedroom. He closed the door and saw that she was already in the bed.

As he laid in the bed, she touched his shoulder causing him to turn towards her. She looked into his eyes and saw the person whom she had married, who was father of her child, who had been there for her for the past one month, who had not raised an eyebrow at her illness and taken charge of everything, not let her feel that she was losing her beauty, has been treating her like a princess. She smiled, fingered his hair gently and kissed his lips.

Klaus felt the touch of her lips on his lips and returned the kiss. He broke the kiss after a few seconds and cupped her face. As he stared into her eyes he felt his stomach muscles tightening at the passion on her face.

He felt so relieved by that kiss, by her accepting him that he touched her cheek caressingly and then he leaned in and kissed her passionately rolling with her on the bed and felt warmth fill him up as she returned his kisses with the same passion. He suddenly felt a jolt as the image of that bathroom stall flashed through his mind making him stop kissing her. He put his forehead on her forehead, his lips inches away from her and he closed his eyes to shake that memory out of his mind and whispered "I am sorry Hayley, I cannot forget…" but was unable to finish the sentence.

Hayley had noticed on occasions that memory of that stall still haunted him just like it haunted her sometimes and when he just stopped kissing her and said those words she knew that this was one of those moments. She knew that she didnt love him and he does not love her yet because of what happened between them and she hoped that one day they will be able to make love to each other without that painful memory but she realized that apparently it was not going to happen tonight.

She touched his cheek causing him to open his eyes reflecting the nightmares that they both were trying to put behind them. She looked into his eyes lost in their past and present hindrances making her heart ache for him. She cupped her face and said "we will get through all the hindrance Klaus."

He smiled and nodded. She then added impulsively "don't bite me okay".

Klaus laughed and said "I am glad you are finding humor in the situation."

Hayley smiled and said "we need to talk a lot about this and what are we going to do about Hope but right now I want you to focus on the job at hand." At the end of the sentence her eyes twinkled with lust making him laugh and successfully removing all doubts from his mind for the time being.

When he finished with a pant, with his lips kissing the spot where once he had bit her, they were both thinking of present and were totally aware of each other's vulnerabilities. He looked up but stayed there caressingly the fingers ideally on her temple.

She smiled and said "I cannot believe it that I slept with a werewolf."

Klaus said "well now that you have decided to believe in me, you are in for a wonderful ride. By the way what made you believe in me?"

Hayley said casually "I dont know. Many things I guess. The conviction with which you left the apartment on the full moon, the way you were distancing yourself from me, I have seen you healed yourself twice and now I am sure that time when you were _grazed in that bank robbery case, you were shot too. _" She added thoughtfully "I think healing on your own was the first most reason that convinced me."

She touched his cheek and continued with determination "Klaus I was serious about meeting my wolf family and Marcel"

Klaus said "are you sure?" running his fingers through her hair only to stop when some of strands got wrapped in his fingers making him look at his hand.

Hayley followed his gaze and knew instantly what had happened so she grabbed his hand on her hair, took the tangled hair out of his fingers cruelly, put them on the side table and said "yes I am sure" while kissing his fingers.

He nodded and rolled over from her.

Hayley turned towards him and asked with hesitation "Klaus does Caroline know about you being a wolf."

Klaus wondered _'should he tell her about being a vampire or not?'_ and then he decided not to considering she and Caroline will be meeting in future so he said "yes she knows it. She saw my injury healing when I was shot in that bank robbery" omitting many details about that incidence and how she found out about him.

Hayley asked him "why did you tell her and not me?"

then added hastily "no don't tell me. I don't want to know."

Klaus lifted himself on one elbow and said "no Hayley you need to know. Her finding out about my secret was not a big deal for me because I trust her; trust her with my most inmost secrets. Caroline and I have a very long history, a past where I trusted her and couldn't hide anything from her so much so that I shared with her about our family's suspicion about you and father and then I told her about the will too. The secret about Hope is the only secret that I have kept from her. The biggest reason we broke up was that in my opinion it would never have worked out between us with me being a wolf. With you I became selfish. I hoped for Hope's sake we will be able to look past this _minor_" he smirked at that word and then continued "detail."

Hayley nodded and said "I understand. I am glad you told me all of this."

He pulled her closer to him and in a few minutes from the sound breathing he realized that she had fallen asleep.

He wondered_ 'why did he think of that incidence today? Wasn't he starting to believe that images of that horrific incidence will be replaced by so many wonderful incidences that he wouldn't think of them so why did he think of it today?'_ but then he realized that because of this new development in their life those new incidences needed to overshadow the bad one have been pushed further and that just revealed those bad images again.

He said to himself "she has stopped looking at him as her rapist. Hopefully she will stop looking at him as a werewolf too."

The realization that she sees him as a werewolf and not her rapist anymore was in a weird way comforting to him. He closed his eyes not knowing that he was smiling and he fell asleep with the last thought in his mind _'she will get through this one too.'_


	18. Chapter 18 Sunny Skies

**_A/N: thank you for the wonderful comments. It is interesting that I read two comments about the possibility that Caroline might be behind the attacks. Great idea but honestly it never crossed my mind LOL. No the attacks are not done by Caroline. it is something from his work. I hope you like this chapter. The story is going a bit slow in time frame wise. Remember it has only been one month since they have gotten married. So much has happened during that time but yes it has been just more then a month since they got married. Guest who liked the balance between the supernatural life and the human life, I really want TO to go in this direction - balance between family life and supernatural life. td she is getting treatment. Unfortunately she will not trigger her gene anytime soon and even after that there is no guarantee that she will cure from her cancer. Sorry :(. Just old fashion way of curing her cancer in this story._**

**_Synopsis: Hayley gets herself familiarized with her pack. Klaus and Hayley had their first argument. Hope starts preschool. _**

* * *

><p>Next morning when Klaus came out of the bathroom after the shower he had made up his mind to dissuade Hayley from going to the bayou and to meet Marcel but before he could voice his opinion Hope came running in and asked "daddy where are we going?"<p>

Klaus looked up just in time to see Hayley saying "when are we leaving?"

Klaus asked "Hayley are you sure?"

He almost laughed when she gave him a look saying "really!"

He said "11. Lets have breakfast."

He held Hope's hand and went to the dinning table.

Hayley asked seeing him lost in thoughts "what is it?"

Klaus said "Joe has captured the guy who attacked you but I am really curious about who ordered it. But still we don't have any leads."

Hayley put the omelet in front of him and asked "but still are you looking into it?"

Klaus asked bitterly "Yes I am and as for the second attack, I cannot even file a report about it considering they were vampires. I talked to Marcel about them but he had no idea"

as he took the slice of bread for himself and poured juice for Hope. He looked at Hayley who was lost in thoughts now while drinking her cup of coffee.

He said a bit sternly "Hayley, sit down and eat something proper. I am noticing you are not eating properly."

Hayley smiled and said "I am fine Klaus" sitting down and continuing "I have been thinking about getting a wig. I think I might lose them in a week or so and I dont want her to see me without hair and dont want to scare you too" she added with a laughter.

Klaus reached across the table and held her hand and squeezed it and said "that can never happen. I don't think you will need a wig. They are just thinning out, not falling all together and _even if they do,_ you will still look beautiful."

She squeezed his hand back and started eating with a heavy heart.

After breakfast Hayley got Hope ready and even though Klaus had doubts about the plan he decided to take her for her peace of mind.

During the ride to the bayou his cell rang. They both looked at it. Seeing Caroline's name on the caller Id made reminded Klaus of their last conversation and he had felt irritated so he cut the call whereas Hayley wondered _'may be he does not want to talk to her in front of me'_ but didnt ask anything to Klaus's surprise. She was already anxious about meeting the remnants of her family, feeling fatigued and that call didnt help her morale.

Klaus stopped the car in the forest in bayou and said "I should tell you I have already met Eve. She is an untriggered Crescent wolf. I came here a couple of days ago and asked her if your triggering your gene will cure you cancer but she didnt know."

Hayley looked at him with surprise and felt touched by his concern and the way he was trying to help her. She said "thank you but even if cures me I dont think that is a good way to cure my cancer."

He said "that is what I thought too but she is still doing her research to find out anything."

He got out, took Hope out of the car seat and walked towards the woods while Hayley walked with him into the woods. They stopped as they spotted the woman Klaus had met some days ago.

She said to him smiling "you are back! But unfortunately I have not found anything."

Hayley said "that is fine. I am Hayley. I wanted to ask you about the pack. The thing is I have this birthmark on my shoulder."

Eve looked at her curiously and then said "show me."

Hayley pulled the shirt down and showed her the mark. She said "you should keep it hidden. Marcel and his men if they find out that you are Crescent, it will not be good for you or your child." Her gaze went to Hope snuggled close to Klaus.

Hayley nodded and said "so it is true that I am Crescent wolf."

Eve said to her smiling"yes and as you have the mark you are not just any wolf, you are a Labanoir, a royal family of the Crescent pack. If you are a human right now then you have not triggered the gene yet. I am sure your daughter carries the gene too considering you are both wolves."

Hayley said "yes, I have not. I don't know anything about myself. I was adopted so I had no idea who my parents were. I recently found out that I am a werewolf and as for my daughter she has the mark too on her shoulder."

Hayley looked at Klaus and realized from his expressions that he was not surprised making her wonder _'did he know about that mark too?'_

Eve said "I dont know who your parents are but Labanoirs were the alpha of the pack before an infighting in the pack killed them. They did have daughter. I dont know what happened to her. But this is your pack and that mark shows that you are a Labanoir. You are welcome to live with us."

Hayley noticed Klaus shift next to her again. For some reason she could feel him getting anxious about her reply and almost laughed when he relaxed down as she said "I am married to Klaus. I cannot live in the bayou but I am living in the city so I would love to visit the pack whenever I can. Is there any way I can find out who I am?"

Eve said "I have a ledger going back to the last living member of the royal family. May be you can find out who you are."

She went towards the hut whereas Klaus and Hayley looked around the bayou with Klaus still carrying Hope. As Hope disappeared into the hut Hayley said "you didnt tel me that you know about Hope's birthmark too!"

Klaus "yes I saw it after I found yours. She is definitely a Crescent too."

Hayley said "seems that way. I hope I get to find more details about my family."

Klaus said "you will" and walked to the water with Hope still in his lap. He stared into the water and wondered _'will she leave him after finding her family? It is not as if they love each other. They are in this together only because of Hope."_

He looked at Hope telling him about the cartoon she had watched yesterday and smiled. He turned toward Hayley as he heard Eve come back and saw her giving her an old ledger.

A couple of minutes later she came back and gave the ledger to Hayley.

Hayley thanked her and they went back to their car.

When he sat in the car Hayley said "now Marcel."

She looked at the ledger in her lap and said "I cannot believe it I am about to find out about my family. Do you think…" she looked up at Klaus and caught him staring at her. She asked "what?"

Klaus said "Just looking at you. I don't know what you are expecting but I dont want to see you getting hurt Hayley."

Hayley smiled and said "oh don't worry about me. Very few things hurt me. I am very strong in that way. You came into my life when I was at my lowest. You have not seen me before that. I can handle anything. I was going to ask do you think that Marcel knows anything about my family. Eve said that he put the spell on them but why?"

Klaus said "I dont know. We can ask him today if you want to."

Hayley said "no, I dont want to ask him today. I want to know him first. I want to see if I can trust him with mine or Hope's life because clearly we will be seeing him a lot considering he is your friend and we are wolves living outside the quarter."

Klaus took out his cell and dialed Marcel's number. He asked him to meet him outside French Quarter. Thirty minutes later Hayley was sitting with Klaus, Marcel and Hope. And to her surprise she had a nice time even though Klaus could feel that she was scared but she didn't show it.

Marcel found talking to Hayley really pleasing. Within a few minutes seeing them interact he gauged how much Klaus liked Hayley and by the end of their casual conversation he was starting to see what Klaus liked about Hayley. Not once from her behavior he got the impression that she was scared of him which was really surprising considering she was meeting a vampire for the first time in her life. He looked at Klaus and caught him looking at Hayley, at the same time Klaus looked at him and smiled. When they got up to leave Marcel said "I am impressed Hayley."

Hayley asked smiling "what do you mean?"

Marcel said "that you are not scared of me."

Hayley said bravely "well you have not done anything scary so far so there is not reason to be scared. I wanted to meet you seeing that you are Klaus's friend and get to know you if you ever decide to visit us."

Marcel laughed and said "well the first rule about vampires and werewolves Hayley. They are mortal enemies. We are friends but that is rare. Second thing never invite a vampire into your house. Once you have invited them in, you cannot uninvited them."

Hayley asked curiously "really! so what happens if we invite a vampire into our house?"

Marcel said "we cannot enter a house owned by a human or a werewolf in your case unless we are invited in."

Klaus looked at him and then out of blue image of Caroline walking in the apartment came into his mind but he shook his head and looked at Hayley who was absorbing the information.

Marcel smiled and said "it is good to meet you and Hope you too."

Later that night Klaus was busy reading the file Ben had given him for a sting operation they did last week so Hayley took out the ledger and started to read it. She soon realized that they were names with the date of births. She flipped to the last page and looked at the names. Her gaze stopped at the name Labanoir.

_. Victoria Labonair - (July 19, 1975-)_

_. Cyrus Labonair - (November 1, 1978-)_

_. Louis Labonair - (December 6, 1987-)_

_. Calvin Labonair - (March 3, 1988-)_

_. Holly Labonair - (July 19, 1984-)_

_. Craig Labonair - (November 1, 1986-) _

_. Andrea Labanoir (June 6th, 1993- ) _

Her eyes got focused at the last name. Seeing the year of birth she wondered _'is she Andrea Labanoir?'_ but then she shook her head saying "it cannot be that simple" and then wondered _'why dont they have end years and why weren't there no names after her? Did the Labanoir family parishes after her." _

She was lost in her thoughts when she heard Klaus ask "_so _have you found anything?"

Hayley said thoughtfully "may be. I think I am Andrea Labanoir."

Klaus said "Andrea? hmmm I like it"

Hayley laughed and said "You know anything about these Labanoir's" giving him the ledger as he gestured for it. He looked at the pages and said "no but I can find out about them. Marcel would know them. He had been living in this city for the past 100 year."

He paused for a second and then said "so _Andrea_, it seems your birthday is coming up. How do you want to celebrate it? If I am not wrong you buy _Hope_ her favorite stuff on _your birthday_."

Hayley looked at him in surprise and said "how do you…" when he smiled, folded his hands behind his head and said "Frozen dvd, Best buy" causing those images to flash through her mind and she remembered how scared she was of him at that time not knowing that he was thinking the exact same thing.

He looked at her back and said "When I think about how you used to step back from me or wipe your sweaty palms on your pants when ever you were in my presence, I think it is a miracle that we are sitting on his bed."

She turned to him smiling and said "yes look at us" and noticed that his eyes had gone back to the ledger. She smiled when suddenly he looked at her and their eyes met. He put the ledger aside, pulled her towards him and kissed her and before they knew it they were out of their clothes and very passionately responding to each other.

Later Klaus stroked her naked shoulder and said "listen I think you and Hope should go to Mystic Falls for a few days. We have been attacked two times in the past two weeks. And one time was a supernatural attack. Now that you know about that side you know how dangerous it is. Vampires are really blood thirsty."

Hayley shook her head and said "no, I will not go without you."

Klaus looked at her determined face and said impatiently "Hayley listen to me…"

But she cut him off by saying with finality "if you are not going then we are not going"

Klaus said "I will talk to my captain. I think I can make a case."

He paused for a second and then said "Hayley I think we should move from New Orleans."

Hayley said "why?!"

Klaus said "Crescent wolves are cursed. If you ever trigger your gene you will be affected by that curse too and so will Hope if that happens to her. I dont want that for either of you."

Hayley said with a smile "I am touched klaus. I never thought about that. But I cannot leave. I have found a connection to my parents' family. I cannot leave Klaus."

Klaus said with slight frustration "Hayley come on. We cannot stay here. I can get transferred to some place else if you don't want to live in Mystic Falls."

She sat up and put on her shirt and pajamas and said with determination "no Klaus. I am not moving from here."

She laid down and said to him "dont you have work in the morning?"

Klaus stared at her angrily getting the hint that she does not want to discuss it further. He said through his grinding teeth "we are not done here."

Hayley smiled and said "sure we are not." and turned away from him.

A couple of minute later she felt his arm go around her waist and pulling her towards him. She smiled in her sleep and continued sleeping.

Next morning Klaus was buttoning his shirt before leaving for work when Hayley walked in the bathroom said "I want to go to the bayou and get to know the remnants of my family"

Klaus looked at her, walked to her and said "Hayley are you sure you want to get to know your pack? I don't want to see you hurt."

Hayley said with a teasing smile that brought an automatic smile on his lips too "aww so sweet of you but I will be okay."

Klaus said "can we talk about it when I get home? I have to go somewhere and I am getting late."

Hayley asked curiously "but it is Sunday where are you going?"

Klaus said "Ben, Alexis and I are working on a sting operation and we have to wrap that up today. Did you listen to what I said."

Hayley looked at him for a while and then nodded.

Klaus said while leaving the apartment "no going to the bayou right now."

Later in the after noon when she came back from the park Klaus was not home. She fixed dinner after settling Hope down in front of TV.

She was siting with Hope in the living room reading a book while she was watching cartoon when the door open and Klaus came in. She turned to look at him and smiled as Klaus put a finger on his lips. She looked at Hope lost in her cartoons not noticing that he was back.

He smiled as he walked to them he tickled Hope causing her to jump. She spun around and squealed "daddy is home."

Klaus picked her up and settled own next to Hayley putting Hope in his lap. Hope put her head on her chest and continued to watch the cartoon while Klaus put his arm around Hayley and said "listen I have been thinking all day and I don't want you to take Hope to the bayou until _we_ get to know them Hayley."

Hayley said "Klaus we?"

Klaus said while kissing Hope's head "She is my daughter too and I get to decide too who she can meet and who she cannot. I know you have been her sole beneficiary from the start and I acknowledge your authority in her upbringing but now that I am part of her life then I get to have a say in this too. Last month had been really busy and we have not time to sit and talk about Hope and what our marriage will do to her life but we need to start talking about that too. For example I was thinking that you said that she will start school in September. How about we put her in a preschool. She is almost five. She should be going to school. How about for a few hours every day. By September she will get used to it too. That way you will get to have some time to yourself too and you can go and visit Eve and others during that time but unless I and you _both _know those people really well I dont want you to take Hope there. We have already been attacked once by someone whom I suspect is supernatural so lets not make the attacks more tempting. "

He looked at her and didnt say anything until she nodded.

Hayley said "okay I will look for a school for her near the apartment. But it just occurred to me that it is good that the security is gone. Otherwise sooner or later they would have figured out our secret."

He put Hope on the sofa and got up saying "yes but considering we dont know why those vampire attacked us or who ordered that idiot to attack you it is not exactly safe to have no patrol."

Hayley said "not as dangerous as them finding out that we are wolves and also I know how to fire now." pausing for a second and the continuing with a mischievous smile as she recalled their firing lessons "Remember you taught me so well."

She then leaned in kissed him.

Klaus kissed her back and said "well you cannot kill anyone. You know that. You can trigger your gene so I would prefer if you keep your happiness in check.".

Hayley laughed whereas Klaus said "I will freshen up and then we can have dinner."

She was putting dinner on the table when was joined by Klaus so she called Hope and they had a pleasant dinner.

Next morning while klaus was fighting off crime, Hayley searched on the net for some good schools and got an appointment to have a tour of the school. She wondered 'should she try to take Klaus to the tour too but then shook her head and got the first available for the tour.

After doing her house chores she sat down with a book in her hand when she suddenly smiled and took out her cell and called Amy.

As the call connected Amy squealed and said "hey where have you disappeared to? I have friends who have gotten married but none have done something you have done."

Hayley looked at Hope playing with her toys and said "well you will not believe what type of month I had. First we had a guest then Elijah came over and then my chemotherapy and then…" she stopped as she realized that she was about to tell her about her wolf family. She thought for a moment and then said "and between all that I got to know Klaus and settled down in my new life as a married woman. I'm sorry."

Amy said "how is Hope? I miss her so much."

Hayley smiled and said "she is great. Klaus is so good to her that you cannot even imagine. Hey happy birthday."

Amy laughed and said "you remembered!"

She was quiet for a second and then said "I want to tell you something."

Hayley sensed hesitation in her tone. She asked "what is it?"

Amy said after some quiet moments "Tyler proposed to me and I said yes."

Hayley felt a tug at her heart but she said "that is great. Are you happy?"

Amy said "yes I am. I thought you might…"

Hayley said "oh come on Amy. You know I have no problem with you being with Tyler. I think it is great. He cares about you and you are clearly in love with him then who better to spend your life with than with someone whom you care about."

Amy asked "then how come you married Klaus? I know you dont love him. You cannot. You just met him."

Hayley sighed and said "you are right. When I got married to him it was because of Hope. He loves Hope and I couldn't afford to be picky with my condition. I wanted some stability in Hope's life. She needed a father figure and Klaus has been that. But now I am falling in love with him and it has only been a month since our wedding. I wonder if that is how arranged marriages used to work?!"

Amy said excitedly "you are falling for your husband. Oh that is so cute and sweet. Okay now on a serious note how are you doing? How did your last chemo go?"

Hayley decided not to tell her better then the previous one because of Klaus being there for her so she said "I felt so relieved that I had someone to take care of me like you have always been."

Amy said "aww that is just great. hey when are you visiting. I want to see Hope."

Hayley coud hear the smile in her voice and said with her own smile "next month. Klaus wants to visit his family. I will definitely come and visit you too. So what have you been up to?"

For the next thirty minutes she listened to Amy talking about the new job she had gotten, changes in her life, Tyler some what with a smile on her lips feeling content with her life after many days. After talking to her she took Hope to the park.

For the next few days things went very smoothly. Hayley got Hope got accepted to the school. Hope had some adjustment issue for the first two days but then she settled down. At home front things were great. She and Klaus were making progress in their relationship. That bathroom stall incidence was just a bad incidence for them which they both wanted behind them and they were succeeding in doing so. Her nausea had improved tremendously albeit the speed with which she was losing her hair and weight was remained same which was not joined in my the dizziness she was feeling a lot. She got an appointment for the next chemo which was immediately after the full moon. She was supposed to get a memo gram after that chemo which was making her anxious but she pushed that thought out of her mind for right now and concentrated to things at hand. Sometimes when she was sitting alone, it was hard to believe how much her life had changed just in the past one month. there was a time when she want to spend time with Hope and had none and now she had all the time in the world to give it to her. She started thinking about getting a job and started applying for it.

Klaus on the other hand was seeing how satisfied she looked with each passing day. Even though she had not started visiting bayou he could see the excitement that she showed whenever the topic was brought up during their conversation. He was impressed by the way she was handling all of that and for some reason it reminded him of the Hayley he had met before he found out more about her. The determination, the stubbiness, the will power, the fierceness, the control. It was all coming back. So one day he complemented her on those qualities and also added "I don't know how but I am glad I got to see your vulnerable side too Hayley and I have to admit that I am falling for you much more quicker then I had first realized."

To which she had just laughed, left the room while saying "we will see about that when I am bald" not knowing how her callous sentences like that were breaking his heart. It was not as if he had not thought about that. He knew about the hair thing but he also knew that he was not bothered about all of it.

On those occasions he felt glad that he was really busy at work. It seemed to him as if all the crimes in the world had chosen to come to New Orleans but as he loved his job he realized he didnt mind it. The only regret he was having these days was when he got home, Hope was already in bed as she had started school so she was sleeping earlier then usual. But the big plus was that he and Hayley got to spend more time together.

He smiled while turning the pages of the file as he realized how far their relationship has progressed and he was sure now that the day when he will fall for her was not far. He looked up and question himself "or has he already fallen for her?"

He startled out of his thought as he heard "yo Mikaelsson what are you thinking?"

He looked at Alexis and said "nothing."

Alexis smiled and said sarcastically "yeah sure" and then said with a smile "I hope Alex thinks of _me _this way too."

Klaus laughed and changing the subject Klaus started talking about their current case "I cannot believe that someone will open a hotline for confessions."

Alexis smiled registering how he ignored Hayley's topic and said "actually I like the idea. It is like confession."

Klaus leaned back and said "what if someone gets hold of those tapes? Like our perp got hold of and it ended badly for the person running the show."

Alexis said "well the same thing can be said about that priest too."

Klaus said "they have a higher power to take confessions. But this one is just not legal. what did he think, this…" he looked at the file and said "Anderson Damian."

Alexis think "in his mind he was helping people. Confession is good for soul. We dont even know if these people are religious and if they are do they even go to confessionals. May be they feel comfortable doing it on the tape ambiguously. No one knows who they are. They call this number and confess to whatever they have committed a crime too. We have not listened to a _single one_ about an actual crime or something. Most of them are petty things and unclear. Seriously some are so ambiguous that I dont even get what the confessional is talking about."

Klaus snapped the file on the table and said "well that got him killed. Who told him to do something he was not trained for?!"

He got up and went downstairs.

Next morning Hayley told Klaus "I am going to the bayou after dropping Hope off to the school."

Klaus looked at her and then said "First sign of trouble you call me! Okay?"

She nodded and was turning away from him when he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him and gently kissed her on her lip and whispered against her lips "I missed you when we were estranged. I never thought I will miss you this much."

Hayley said softly "and I never thought we will be at this place."

Klaus smiled, stepped back and said "I have to go now."

He stepped past her, picked up his coffee from the kitchen and left.

When he reached the office he found a very sick Alexis with her head down on the desk. He walked to her and said "hey, why are you here if you are so sick."

Alexis said with annoyance "I thought I will be able to handle it but it seems like I cannot."

Klaus said "Why dont you go home? You cannot help me in this condition. Hey only two weeks left for the wedding! Are you ready for it?"

Alexis smiled as she collected her stuff and said "of course. I have been looking forward to this day for the past two years. I am off Klaus." She stopped and asked "hey how is Hayley doing?"

Klaus smiled and said "good."

He was looking at Joseph Barton's file when he got a call from the downstairs that he had a visitor. When he entered the visitors room, he was surprised to see Joseph Barton waiting for him.

He asked "Mr. Barton what are you doing here?"

Joseph said "I wanted to tell you something. An friend of mine like _me,_ stopped by and told me that he hired a man to attacked someone else whom he considered a threat to me and a client of mine. Care to guess Mr. Mikaelson which threat he was referring to?"

Klaus said "me" without hesitation.

Joseph sat down opposite him and said "bingo. Now care to guess which client they were referring to?"

Klaus smiled and said "Brain Hanley."

Joseph smiled while scribbling something down on a piece of paper and said "your reputation does you justice Mr Mikaelson but I want to make sure you know that I had nothing to do with that attack."

Klaus started pacing thinking and then turned to him and said "I get that they want me taken care of so that I dont give testimony in Hanley's case but why would they attack me to protect you?"

Joseph said getting up "because apparently someone asked him to do so. That someone who knows that you are a werewolf and my friend thought that in doing so he is protecting me too" patted Klaus's shoulder and walked towards the door when Klaus asked him curiously "why are you telling me all of this?"

Joseph turned and said "because someone crossed a line when he attacked your family. Families are off limit in my book. His name is Emil Stanton. My name should not come in."

Klaus said "how will I be able to link him to you."

Joseph looked towards the table in the center of the room. Klaus followed his gaze and saw a paper on it. He went to it, picked it up and read it "subpoena my phone record: 504-987-3421."

He turned towards the door with a smile but he was gone.

He walked to his desk and took out the file about Barton and in a few moments he got up and went to the Ben's office and said "I need a warrant for Barton's cell phone. I know you have cleared him but I have found that he has another phone and I think he is involved some how."

Ben said "wasn't he here in the station right now."

Klaus said "yes and something he said made me think that he is hiding something."

A week went by during which Hayley went to see Eve every other day after dropping off Hope to school. Later at night she would tell Klaus about what she had found out about her pack and her family and ask him if he had gotten a chance to talk to Marcel yet. Hope was adjusting to school really nicely and apparently loved it. Hayley felt a bit relieved that she was getting some personal time for herself.

He was getting in the bed and stopped when she said "Klaus I want to break the curse on my pack" and then sneezed.

He looked at her as she took her pills and asked "what?"

Hayley said while sneezing "I want to break the curse on my pack."

Klaus said in exasperation "Hayley!"

Hayley said "yes I have been thinking about this curse for the past couple of days. every time i meet eve I think it is not right why the curse has been put on them."

Klaus sat up and said in a confused tone "have you gone crazy? You just met them. How can you think that?"

Hayley said calmly "meeting them for the first time in my life does not mean that I cannot help them with whatever they need. And right now I want to help them break the curse. Why can I not think that?"

Klaus snapped "You cannot do that for many reasons. Number one you are still a human, number two we don't know anything about the curse and how dangerous it will be to break it and lastly, overall Hayley, it is very dangerous. You have to think about you health...and Hope Your health condition does not allow you to put yourself in such a dangerous position."

Hayley brushed her hair and said "I am fine Klaus apart from this damn sneezing_!_" as she sneezed.

Klaus said sarcastically "really" and handed her a couple of hair that had come apart on her brush.

Hayley took them from him, threw them in the bin carelessly and said "I have to live with it Klaus. My cancer will not stop me from living my life. You dont know me. I can handle anything except if something happens to Hope because I'm not here to protect her, to love her. I think I couldn't handle that, but then you came in my life and things got better. You being in my life has given me courage again to do this thing."

She took the tissue from the box and sneezed into it again and said "I think I am coming down with something."

Klaus asked still annoyed "what do you mean?"

Hayley said in between another bout of sneezes "these sneezing and coughing. Flu I think and I it is getting worse."

Klaus stared at her and then said in a calm trying-to-reason voice "Hayley supernatural world is not safe especially if you are causing conflicts in it. Some witch put a curse on your pack. We cannot deal with a witch. We are not equipped to do so. Then dont forget about vampires. You remember the day we went to the French Quarter a man approached us and I shielded Hope." when she nodded he said "he was a vampire. Werewolves are not allowed in French Quarter. They kill them on Marcel's order. We have a child to take care of. If you try to break this curse who knows how many enemies you will be making. Isn't it enough that enemy from my work are following us home."

Hayley said as she walked out of the bathroom "listen I will think about Hope before doing anything questionable. Right now I just want to get to know my pack. I just wanted to share what I want to do with my pack in the long run. I am not going to do it right away."

Klaus ran his fingers through his hair following her and said "okay Hayley I realize that I cannot stop you from doing anything that you are determined to do but promise me whatever you are thinking about doing you will tell me before doing it."

Hayley said "of course" as she laid down in her bed.

He got in the bed when his cell rang. He picked it up and then looked at Hayley and said "I will be back."

He got up and left the room.

Hayley's heart dropped as she realized it must be Caroline. She closed her eyes and didnt know when she fell asleep knowing well that he had not come back.

While she laid in her bed torturing herself thinking it was Caroline calling, Klaus ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and said "Mother, I cannot visit right now. I have already taken a lot of time off. Next month."

Esther said "Niklaus, what that girl has done to you. You used to visit once every month but ever since you married her, you dont even call."

Klaus said exasperatedly "mother, she has not done anything. I will visit next month. I have some holidays coming."

Esther said "Niklaus next month was your wedding with Caroline."

Klaus said "yes mother. I am sorry you are not happy with with my marriage but I am happy with my life and I would appreciate it if you accept her and Hope as my family."

Esther said adamantly "that will never happen" and disconnected the call.

Klaus sat in the living room for a long time thinking about the mess his life was and then some time later retreated to the room only to find her already gone to sleep. He walked to the bed, gently removed her hand form his pillow, fell on the bed and in no time fell asleep.

Two days later it was Saturday, Hayley took Klaus to the bayou with her. After spending a few hours in the bayou with Eve and other untriggered wolves which included kids too he started to see why Hayley wanted to break the curse but looking at Hope he knew it was too dangerous. He realized at that moment that he will never be able to stop Hayley so it is better that he helps her and keep an eye on her during the process. On the way back from the bayou Hayley said to him "I want you to talk to Marcel and find out about the curse on my pack. If Eve is right and he is the one who put the curse on them then he would know about my family too."

Klaus said "Hayley it is not safe. I dont want Marcel to know about you or give him the impression that you are trying to break the curse. Marcel might be my friend but he definitely will not like that you are trying to break the curse. We dont even know why he put the curse on your pack."

Hayley said adamantly "then find out. If you will not go then I will go and talk to him, but I will find out."

Klaus ran his fingers through his hair while stopping the car at the bottom of his apartment and said with frustration "Hayley I have told you that I will get information from him. Give me some time. I dont want to make him suspicious of you. We met him just a few days ago. Lets wait a few more days."

He nodded at the cops standing at the door and opened the door carrying Hope inside and said after closing the door "are you listening to me."

Hayley looked at him, took Hope from his arms and said "no" and went to her room.

Klaus stood there feeling frustrated and then took out his cell and dialed Marcel's number.

She was changing Hope's clothes when she heard him say "I am meeting Marcel tomorrow but I am not promising anything. I might have to manipulate the information from him."

He saw her coughing and said "you are getting worse you know. You need to see a doctor for this."

Hayley said "i will be okay. It is just a flu."

Sunday full day they spend together as a family. Had brunch out, took Hope to the park, ate dinner out too and by the time they came back it was dark so she went to Hope's room to get ready for the bed. As she pulled the blank over Hope he walked into the room and said "I am going to meet Marcel", looked at Hope and said "good night love. Daddy has to go somewhere so I cannot read the bedtime story for you. Mommy will do it today." He bent down and kissed her and was leaving when she said "I had fun today."

Klaus turned smiling and said "me too." he squeezed her hand gently and looked up catching Hayley looking at him with a smile on her face to. He nodded and left .

Thirty minutes later he was sitting opposite to Marcel and very cautiously he asked him "I wanted to know about Crescent pack. Really curious about different packs of wolves."

Marcel said "the chief of the pack, Alexander Labanoir was a friend of mine. Good man. He had one daughter and a son. Son was older then his daughter. One night there was an infighting in which someone killed him and his family. By the time I got there, only a child was in the hut - Andrea. I took her to father Kieran and we put her up for adoption and then to control the riot that had erupted in the pack I got hold of a witch Brynne Deveraux to put a curse on them considering I couldnt very well kill children."

Klaus sat up and asked in confusion "what?"

Marcel laughed and said "I have a rule. I dont kill children."

Klaus nodded as he recalled Joseph's comment about not hurting the families. He wondered '_do all vampires have this code?' _but then asked carefully "do you know any thing about Andrea Labanoir?"

Marcel was quiet for a moment and then said "well you tell me?"

Klaus detective skills told him not to indulge in this conversation but he asked "what do you mean?"

Marcel laughed and said "really! you dont want to acknowledge that Hayley is Andrea?"

Klaus asked "how …?"

Marcel said with annoyance "I am more than a hundred years old Klaus. I was turned by the first vampire in the history of vampires who taught me well. The rest I picked up. Considering our recent conversation last week and you inquiry about Andrea Labanoir and then your concern about her killing that vampire I added two and two."

Klaus said "yes she is. And she will stay that way."

Marcel said coldly "Crescent pack is cursed Klaus. Make sure she does not trigger her gene…" and walked away from there before Klaus could react.

When he got home he was steaming in anger with Hayley and Marcel. He cursed himself for getting under pressure by her insistence. He entered the apartment angrily, at once glance knew that Hope had gone to sleep. He went to his room and saw her sitting on the bed. He walked to her and hissed "happy now, Marcel knows about you. He deduced it from our conversation."

Hayley felt a little alarmed by his anger and about Marcel finding out about her but said controlling the gag that was building up in her throat "so what? How long do you think you could have hidden it from him. He is the vampire of the French Quarter. He has those wolves cursed. He would have found out why I am meeting them."

When he didnt say anything and continued to glare at her angrily she walked to him and said calmly "Klaus I have been on my own since I was seventeen and you have no idea how much I wanted to meet my real parents. Now I have gotten a chance so yes I will go and meet them with or without you. You cannot be with me all the time."

Klaus looked at her in frustration and was about to say something when she put her hand on her mouth and ran to the bathroom. He said "blood hell" and immediately went after her pushing open the bathroom door that she had closed behind her.

Hayley felt his hand on her back as she was bend over the toilet and leaned against him.

Afterwards she got up with his help and washed her face, brushed her teeth and looked at herself in the mirror an said "I need to find my family before things get out of control."

Klaus looked at her and saw she was looking pale and in his anger he had not seen that. He said sounding worried now "what you need to do is get a doctor's appointment. How long have you been feeling this way?"

Hayley said walking out of bathroom "since you left."

Klaus said "let me bring you something to eat."

Even after Klaus forced down food in her stomach she could see how annoyed he was with her but the worry and the care he was showing triumphed all his anger. While she ate Klaus told her about what he had found about her pack and the curse. To Klaus annoyance and worry she didnt feel better and continued to stay sick throughout the night.

After her last vomiting spree she at last managed to sleep for a few hours peacefully in his arms.

Next morning when he woke up he was already late. Even though he didnt feel like leaving her alone in this condition he knew he had to. He was in a fix thinking about what to do when he felt her slip her hand in his hand and heard her say "go. I am okay. I will be okay."

He kissed her on her forehead and whispered "I am sorry Hayley that I cannot stay with you but I have to go. I will try to come early today. If you feel worse please call me. Now rest. No need to take Hope to school today. "

Hayley grabbed his hand, kissed it and said in groggy voice "no, go. You were wonderful last night" and closed her eyes.

He changed, went to Hope's room who was still sleeping. He picked her up gently and laid her next to Hayley and left.

For the next few days Hayley felt really tired, often dizzy and very weak, her cough was not getting better. When her condition persisted for three days straight Klaus insisted that she get an appointment to get checkup so on the fourth day she picked up her phone and called Dr Dole's office and got an appointment the very same day in the afternoon.

While Hayley was making an appointment with Dr Dole, Joe came to Klaus in the station and said excitedly "we got him. We traced that phone you subpoenaed to this Jacob Laroza. Apparently connected to Brain Hanley, one of your clients."

Klaus asked in confusion "what?" as he recalled what Joseph Barton had told him. He wondered '_what happened to Emil Stanson?"_ and then he realized that they were dealing with vampires so anything is possible.

He was lost in thought when Joe asked him putting his gun in his holster "are you coming or not?"

Klaus said "hell yeah".

He took out his gun and badge from the drawer and followed him with Alexis right behind her.

She was getting ready for her appointment when her cell rang. She looked at the number wondering who it was but couldn't figure out so she picked it up and said "Hello?"

She groaned as she heard "hello Hayley, this is Caroline."

Hayley groaned and asked in surprise "how did you get my number?"

Caroline said "oh Nikky gave it to me."

Hayley frowned at that name and asked "_Klaus_ gave it to you! when?"

Caroline said "when we talked a few days ago. _Didn't he tell you?_"

Hayley said through grinding teeth "he did but he didnt say that you were interested in my phone number."

Caroline said "oh but _I am interested in you._ After all you are my best buddy's wife. We should get to know each other. I wanted to tell you that I met your mother yesterday."

Hayley's felt her breathing stopped. When she didn't say anything Caroline said "she has no idea you have a daughter. Why didn't you tell her that?"

Hayley snapped "none of your business Caroline."

She started to see stars of anger at hearing her laughter but before she could say anything Caroline said "any way that is between you and your mother. Klaus told me that you know about him being a you know."

Hayley felt a pit in her stomach as she recalled Klaus telling her about how much he trust Caroline. She took a deep breath and said "yes he told me. After all I am his wife. He couldnt very well hide that secret from me that long. Any way I would have loved to talk to you a bit longer but darn it I have to go. Good bye Caroline."

She sat down on the bed controlling her anger at Caroline and Klaus for some reason and then she thought of what she had told her about her parents and it hit her t_hat they might figure out Klaus being Hope's father and so will Amy and Tyler. All of them knew about her rape albeit her parents never believed her or they did but didnt want to tarnish their family's reputation'. _

She realized at that moment that they couldnt tell that story about Hope that Elijah and Mikael suspected without making anyone suspicious.

She called out Hope and said "Hope sweetie lets go. I have a doctor's appointment and then we will go to the park."

Two hours later she was looking at Hope playing in the park hoping that her blood results are okay but there was a sinking feeling in her stomach telling her something was definitely wrong.

When she got home Klaus was already there.

Klaus was lost in thoughts thinking_ if Jacob was involved or it was some compulsion thing and Emil compelled him to confess somehow_ when he heard the door open and Hope's voice "I want mac and cheese" and Hayley replying "I have made pasta today. We will eat that but tomorrow I can make mac and cheese."

She smiled as she saw him and then asked him trying to keep her voice calm in spite of the anxiety and tiredness that had taken over her all of a sudden "when did you come home?"

Klaus said kissing Hope as she ran to him and got on his stomach "just a few minutes ago. Did you go for your appointment?"

Hayley said "yes they did some blood work. Will tell the result in couple of days. How was the work?"

Klaus said "We apprehended the guy who apparently attacked you today."

Hayley said "what? who was he? what do you mean apparently?"

Klaus said "a low life trying to defend his asset."

At her confused look he said "my case. Well he confessed that he did it but something is nagging me about his confession."

Hayley said "well I am sure it is nothing. You caught him and that is enough. I can breathe now."

She started towards kitchen but stopped and turned around and saw Klaus listening to Hope intently as she told him what she did in the park.

She smiled and went to the kitchen but stopped as she saw dinner set on the table. She turned around and bumped into his chest. He smiled as their eyes met and said "I thought I should give you a break from cooking."

She leaned in and kissed him and said "thanks. I don't know why I am so tired these days."

Klaus looked at her tired face curiously and realized she did in fact looked extremely tired. He said "it is okay. You are going through a very aggressive treatment Hayley and you are doing really well."

He then said "Hope love, come lets wash our hands and then have dinner."

When Hope came to him with a doll in her hand he picked her up and washed her hand in the sink while tickling her in her stomach and feeling very light at the sound of her laughter.

During the dinner he realized she was really quiet. He asked her "what is it?"

Hayley smiled and said "nothing just tired. I want to sleep."

Klaus said firmly "Eat something and then you can go and sleep. I will clean up."


	19. C 19 Where this is a will there is a way

**_A/N: thanks you for wonderful comments. I know most of you want Klaus to find out about Caroline's motives. He will but it will take some time. This chapter is totally about Klayley and their evolving relationship in this difficult situation. Just realized that this chapter had again become very long. Hope you enjoy it. _**

**_Synopsis: Elijah finds out about Hayley and Hope being potential werewolves. Hayley meets someone from her past. Klaus and Hayley have their first argument but they took their relationship one step further too. _**

* * *

><p>She put the phone down feeling thoroughly depressed at what Dr Dole had said to her and went to Hope's room. She picked up her the book from the bed and put in on the shelf while thinking about her cancer when suddenly Caroline's image came to her mind and she started to think about their conversation a day early. She was lost in her thoughts about what her conversation when she heard the sound of front door open. She smiled and looked towards the door expecting him but the smile slipped as she saw anger on his face.<p>

She asked "what happened?"

Klaus asked angrily " you applied for job and never told me?!"

Hayley looked at him curiously and asked "can I not apply for a job?"

Klaus said with annoyance _"no Hayley that is not the point. _The point is that you never told me. Would I have stopped you? Elijah got a call from James Dentin. He knows the owner there and he called him seeing that you gave our company reference and then he called me. Imagine my surprise that I didnt even know _that my own wife _was applying for job."

Hayley said feeling guilty as she realized what he was making make sense "Klaus I am sorry. I am just used to being independent and didnt think about telling you. I am sorry if I have put you in an awkward position."

Klaus stared at her and then went to their room and closed he bathroom door behind him.

Hayley stood there looking at the spot where he was standing a few moments ago feeling extremely guilty and then followed him.

When he came out he asked "do you even want me in your life Hayley?"

Hayley looked at him in surprise and asked "why are you asking me that? You know it is not true."

Klaus asked now in a raised voice "then why do you hide stuff from me?"

Hayley walked to him and asked trying to keep her voice calm "_I _hide stuff from you?! What about what you hide from me?"

Klaus said in frustration "I told you Hayley if I hide things from you then there must be reason I do that. By the way what are you talking about?"

Hayley said coldly "Caroline! How long have you been talking to her and not telling me?"

Klaus exclaimed "Hayley?!"

Hayley said trying to keep her voice reasonable "Klaus if you were in my place and under the circumstances we got married and my ex would call me behind your back then what would you think?"

Klaus didnt say anything for a minute and then said "I am not having an affair with Caroline. You know why?"

Hayley looked into his eyes where anger was replaced by something else which just made the knot in her stomach tighter. She asked "why?"

Klaus said "because I am busy developing feelings for my wife."

Hayley started to turn away when he grabbed her hand and said "why dont you acknowledge that we are developing feelings for each other?"

Hayley said desperately "because I don't believe you. How can you fall for me? Look at me…"

Klaus cut her off by asked rather annoyingly "why? Why cannot I love you? What is wrong with you? _And please _don't say that it is because of your hair. You think I am so petty that just because your hair are falling I will not love you?"

When she didn't say anything he said deliberately trying to keep his voice calm "I have told you time and again that even if all of your hair fall that will not make a difference to how I feel about you. You don't want to believe me then don't but trust me that apart from that kiss that I shared with Caroline, I have been sincere to you and to our vows."

He her her hand go and left the room.

She looked at him as he left the room feeling frustrated, guilty, angry and sighed. He was so angry at her right now that she couldn't muster up the courage to tell him about the latest development that Dr Dole had told her. That night they both slept unhappy with their latest gap in their relationship.

Next morning he took the coffee and left for work without talking to her leaving her feeling guilty. She got Hope ready and left for her school.

Klaus laughed at Alexis as she said with annoyance "I have never seen such a stupid robbery in all my life. Made me miss my dinner date with Alex. Now it is 7 already. Let him sweat one night in the locker tonight and start tomorrow with him" while pushed the perp ahead and said "walk" and then to Alexis "well someone has to make our job easy right!" when his cell rang. He looked at Dr Dole's name on the caller Id and said to Alexis "can you take him? I have an urgent call."

He put the cell on his ears and asked "Dr Dole, is everything okay?"

Alexis turned to him when she heard his raised voice "what?"

Klaus stared at the door as he continued to listen to Dr Dole. His already pent up anger at her didnt help the situation and by the time she was done telling him about her, he was sure that he was ready to murder her after getting home.

He said "dont worry. I will take care of it. I will call you in an hour."

He then looked at Alexis who said "go. I will book him."

Hayley was folding laundry in Hope's room when she started to feel very tired so she sat down on the bed and continued to fold her clothes. She got up with a sigh and went to put them in her closet wondering _'what will happen if she does not get that injection? How should she tell Klaus about it? It is too expensive. Already he is doing so much for him. Cancer treatment is not really cheap? Should she get the loan again? He had put money in her account. But how much?'_

At last after thinking for half an hour she decided to tell him when he comes back.

Klaus entered the apartment angrily and dashed into Hope's room with the full intentions of killing her in rage but stopped as he saw that Hope was asleep while she was folding her clothes.

She smiled and said "you came early…" but stopped talking as he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of room and hissed "when were you going to tell me?

Hayley looked at his angry face and then the way he was holding her arm and to her surprise she realized that she was not scared of him. She asked "what happened?"

Klaus let her go and continued angrily "I got a call from Dr Dole. She was expecting you _today_ Hayley."

Hayley said as she picked up Hope's doll from the sofa "oh."

Klaus said with frustration "oh?! is that all you have to say to me? When did you get your results Hayley?"

Hayley said "yesterday."

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and said "how could you Hayley? you said we are in everything together and you didnt tell me that you white blood cell count is so low. You body is already not fighting illness. This flu can be really dangerous in your condition. How could you? She said that you need those damn injections to increase it so that you body is ready for next chemo. Why wouldn't you do that? Do you have a death-wish or something?"

Hayley stared at him and was turning away when he said angrily "no, I need answers right now."

Hayley said softly "I was going to tell you but Klaus it is very expensive and then you were already angry about that job thing. I couldnt…"

Klaus was ready to give a rebuttal but got lost when he heard her say that. He whispered forgetting his anger in shock of what he had just heard "what?" and then added now getting angry again "are you kidding me?! No. No. You cannot make excuses like _these._ What do you mean expensive? You are having this. I will talk to you doctor myself."

He stepped back form her still steaming with anger and then grabbed her as her knees buckled.

He said through gritting teeth "I am so angry that I feel like leaving you here but I cannot."

He picked her up as she asked with a smile "why not?"

He looked at her and said looking at the tease on her face "not right now Hayley. I am not in a mood" as he carried her to their room and laid her down.

Klaus took out his cell and dialed Dr Doles's office. He tried to calm himself before turning towards her and said "well I will give you one incentive to get your white blood count up."

Hayley looked at him and said "what is that?"

Klaus said "wait" and said in the phone "I want to get an appointment with Dr Dole for tomorrow for Hayley Mikaelson. She is expecting my call."

He waited for a moment and then said "yes 11am is fine. thank you."

He put the cell down and said "Dr Dole said that your white blood count is so low that she wants us to avoid penetrative sex until your blood count improves. Now it is up to you how long you want to keep them low."

He looked into her eyes and smiled as he saw the blush appear on her cheeks.

Next morning he was playing with Hope with her blocks when he looked at the time and said "are you ready Hayley?"

When he didnt hear anything he said to Hope as he pushed the block on Hope's block set "go and check if mommy is ready or not?"

Hope ran to her room and came out in a minute saying "she is in bathroom."

Klaus asked "okay."

Hope asked timidly "is mommy sick?"

It just hit him that if Hayley is in bathroom then the door would be closed so how does Hope knows that she is in the bathroom. He got up and dashed to his room and groaned as he saw her bend over toilet.

Hayley cursed her cancer as she continued to threw up and then felt a strong hand on her hand and willed the tears to stop falling from her eyes.

He handed her over the towel and said "you need to get your white blood cell up Hayley. That and your chemo is weakening your body and your immune system is not fighting back."

On the way back from the hospital Klaus looked at her sideways and said "Hayley you cannot go to the bayou in this condition. Do you understand?"

Hayley said feeling exhausted "Klaus!"

But Klaus cut her off angrily "no Hayley. You can catch anything from there. Your immune system is low. Your count is 3350 where it should be between 4500 and 10000."

When she didn't say anything he continued "I am going to take some time off from office" as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

Hayley said "you dont need to. I will be fine."

Klaus said sarcastically "yes I know."

By the time they reached their apartment building she had fallen asleep. He looked behind and saw that Hope was looking out of the window with a serious expression.

He smiled at her and said "so Hope, what do you want to eat?" as he got out of the car.

She said softly while looking at Hayley "mac and cheese."

He walked to the other side of the car and opened the door and got her of the carseat and asked "what is it love?"

Hope asked with slight hesitation "is mommy sick daddy?"

Klaus's heart ached for her but he knelt down and said "yes, we have to take care of mommy. Will you help me take care of her?"

He smiled again as she nodded her head earnestly.

He got up, lifted Hayley out of the car and carried her up with Hope walking beside him.

As he lowered her on the bed, she opened her eyes and asked groggily "Klaus where is Hope? She needs to eat something."

Klaus said softly removing her hair from her cheek "she is fine. I will take care of her. Why dont you sleep?"

She nodded and turned away from him.

Next morning when he got up he thanked his luck at being Sunday. He looked at sleeping Hayley and wondered _'should he take some time for work? She needs him'_

and then he got out of bed and went to Hope's room. She was already up playing with her toys. He grabbed her form her stomach sending her into laughter. They rolled on the carpet for a few moments and talked about what she was playing with. He then carried her to kitchen, gave her something to eat and then changed her and took her to their room.

A few hours later Klaus looked to his side and saw Hayley was reading something. He asked her "what are you reading?"

Hayley said "just some pamphlet I picked up from Dole's office when I was there for the injection."

She smiled and looked at Hope lying on her bed who was watching something on the iPad with the headphones on her ears and then at Klaus doing something of his own ad smiled and said "this is so nice and calming. "

Klaus smiled and said "yes" after looking at Hope and then continued reading the file that Elijah had send her over when he heard her gasp. He looked at her and asked "what is it?"

Hayley looked at the paper in her hand and then at Klaus and said "oh my god Klaus."

Klaus asked now alarmed "what happened?"

She said as she read from the pamphlet in her hand "_it says that It's not known if chemotherapy drugs pass into _" she looked at Hope who had headphones on her ears and was watching the cartoons on the iPad so she continued "_semen or vaginal fluids. Doctors usually advise you to use condoms for a few days after chemotherapy to protect your partner. _How could I have forgotten that?!_"_

She looked up at Klaus as he continued to look confused and said with frustration _"_Klaus we had unprotected …" she looked at Hope again and continued " sex the first time after my chemo."

Klaus relaxed and said carelessly"oh don't worry. Everything will be okay. I am a wolf remember. I will be okay."

Hayley said anxiously "if something happens to you I will never forgive myself."

Klaus said with a smile "I am touched but Hayley it also says that it has not been proven so dont worry" as he took the pamphlet from her hand and scanned through it.

A couple of minute later he looked at her and realized that she was not fully satisfied on what he has said to her. He sighed and looked down at his file knowing well that if she has decided to get worried about something he cannot do anything about it.

Monday afternoon as Hayley was sitting on Hope's bed feeling relieved after a long time, she heard the front door open. She looked towards the door as she heard him ask someone "when are you coming over?"

Hayley's heart jumped into her throat as she heard him ask that. The first thought that crossed her mind was _'is Caroline coming again?' _at the same time he appeared at the bedroom door.

Elijah said "three days… hmmm what is today? Monday so yes Thursday night… This time I am coming over for one month so I will be staying at my house and I will not be able to visit till Friday. Want to discuss a case with you. Want your input on them."

Klaus said "okay good. See you then."

He put the phone down and walked to her saying "Elijah is coming over on Friday."

He then looked at Hope, sat down next to her and said "when did she sleep?"

Hayley took a sigh of relief that it was not Caroline and said "a few minutes ago."

She held his hand and said "I want to tell you this because I know that you are as scared of me getting pregnant as I am that I am not pregnant".

Klaus took a sigh of relief and said "oh good" then added "how do you know I was worried?"

She smiled and said "detective's wife! you are rubbing on me. You have no idea how relieved I am feeling."

Klaus said "I can because I feel the same way. I am just looking forward to when you are cured of this cancer and we can try to have another baby."

Hayley smiled, enjoyed the flutters in her stomach and said "do you want to have another baby before we fall for each other?"

Klaus held her hand pulling her in the standing position, asked "who said we are not falling for each other right now?"

She smiled and said "hmm" then reached up and kissed him and started to leave the room.

Klaus kissed Hope on her forehead and said following her "I was thinking after the full moon we should visit Mystic Falls before your next chemo. I want Hope and you to officially meet my family and remove some of their confusion. I have a couple of vacations coming up after the full moon."

Hayley looked at his face and couldn't help but feel sorry for him to be in this situation; knowing that his family does not like her. She nodded.

The next two days went smoothy without any major incidence. Klaus told Ben about Hayley's cancer so he was able to come home earlier if he could. He was making sure Hayley was taking cares of her as per the instructions her doctor has given her whereas Hayley was trying not to lose her temper with his insistence on doing the things the way her doctor had asked her to. During day time he was busy at work, Hope and she at home as he had forbidden her from going to bayou and she knew he had a point so she had to listen to him which further made her annoyed at him. Hope as per doctor's instruction was not going school with the risk that she might bring illness home. Klaus was extra careful when he got home. Washing hands, wearing mask, avoiding kissing on her mouth and didn't let her do the same too, annoying Hayley to no bounds but he was persistent. Third day after she got her white blood cell results when she leaned in to kiss him on his lips he stepped back making her snap.

Hayley snapped at him "dont treat me like I will break if you touch me."  
>Klaus looked at her for a moment while absorbing her frustration and said rather coldly "I am not treating you liked that. I am doing <em>what the doctors have told me to do<em>. She told me to avoid anything physically that can transfer germ in your body and saliva carries a lot of germs. You dont like it, go take it up with the doctor. I will do as I am told. You are not only mother of my child, I care about you too and I want you to get better and not die on Hope and me incase you have not noticed."

And stormed out of the room leaving her steaming in anger too.

As her anger settled down she started to feel guilty about her outburst at him. She told herself not to be an idiot and appreciate when someone is there to take care of her.

He came back in a few minutes and said "I have to go. I am on stakeout with Alexis. Hope has gone to sleep. I will come late. Don't wait up for me" and left before she could say anything.

They had been sitting in that car for two hours looking at the building for any signs of trouble when she took the binoculars from him saying "let me see."

Klaus took a bite of his sandwich and said "just be careful. The glare…" when suddenly he saw someone move under the ledge. He realized at once that Alexis has not spotted the person. And then it happened, he shouted "someone is over there. Duck" when suddenly they were shot from the either side of the car. He closed the door and pushed Alexis down. He took out his gun and the radioed "shots fired. shots fired. Lincoln and 21st. Officers need help."

He looked towards Alexis and saw her arm bleeding but she had taken out her gun too biting her lips controlling the pain. He said "they are coming. Are you hit anywhere else too?"

Alexis said "no. You?"

Klaus said ignoring the pain in his ribs from the gunshot "no I am fine. We need to get out of this car."

He raised himself a bit and shot in the direction where his sharp werewolf eyesight spotted a moment. He then said to Alexis "go go go". He opened his side of the door while she opened the other side and they both ran towards the cafe. Alexis shot at the glass door while Klaus kept his back towards her and continued to look for shooting but none came. They both entered the cafe and scurried behind the counter. He said "it has been quiet for a while. Do you think they are gone?"

ALexis said cradling her injured arm "looks that way. Damn it. Two weeks before the wedding."

He looked at her injury and realized that his eyes could see through the hole on her arm and said "it is through and through. No major damage."

Alexis asked "how do you know?"

He pushed his finger in it and said "I dont feel the bullet in it."

The both became alert as they heard the door open. He readied his gun when he heard Ben's voice "Klaus!"

He took a sigh of relief and said "here captain. Alexis is hurt."

As he started to get up she said "so are you!"

Klaus turned to her and asked in confusion "what?"

Alexis said "you are hit! Look. How can you not feel it?"

She touched his ribs but he moved back and said "I am fine."

She pulled his shirt up and saw a bullet hit.

She said "you need to go to hospital. This looks serious."

Ben cleared his throat and said "yes, lets take you there. You okay Woods."

Alexis looked at her arm and said "seems through and through. They are gone. What happened?"

Ben said angrily "no idea. I cannot wait for the day when we take down this gang. Our stakeout was a bust too. Couldn't find anything and then this gang had to come to shoot. Any way lets go to the hospital."

He looked at Klaus who was trying to catch his eye asking him "how will they explain his healing?"

An hour later Alexis entered the room and said "one stitch on each side. You were right. It was through and through. How are you? Any stitches?"

Klaus said "no" and started to get up while buttoning his shirt.

She asked "where are you going?"

Klaus said "home."

She asked "I am surprised you didn't feel the bullet."

Klaus said lightly "I am just too brave."

Alexis said "if you have not gotten any stitches then how did they patch you up? Show me."

Before Klaus could do anything she had pulled his shirt apart and then gaped at his smooth skin.

Klaus said "I can explain" as she stepped back.

She stared at him in shock and said "you can explain that! I know you were shot. What happened? How did you heal?" and then noticed his eyes fixed on something over her shoulder. She spun around and saw Ben standing there. As she saw Ben nodded.

She spun towards Klaus who sighed and said "you better sit down."

She said adamantly "I dont want to sit. Tell me what is going on here."

As he started telling her about himself, he saw her complexion paling and her eyes darting form Ben to him again and again as if they both have lost their minds.

When he was done Ben said "this is a secret Alexis. No one can find out. Klaus is your partner. It is your job to keep this secret safe. He will not be able to fight for justice if this gets out. And this is not as simple. You dont know how far this goes. It goes way up to the commissioner. Now you both go home. I will see you around noon tomorrow. No need to come in the morning. Joe can take care of the person you shot Klaus."

Klaus glanced at Alexis who was still in shock and said "hmm" and left.

When he got home she was fast asleep. He took a shower to wash away any potential germs he could have gotten from the hospital and got under the covers with her and soon he had fallen asleep.

Next morning when Hayley woke up he was still asleep so she sneaked out of the bed quietly and went to tend to Hope. She gave her breakfast, changed her and set her in front of the TV for half an hour so that she could clean up in the kitchen.

It was around ten when she got a call on her cell from Dr Dole who wanted to see her next day for her blood work. After putting the cell down when she turned he saw him sitting on the floor with Hope watching cartoon. She walked to him and asked "when did you get up?"

Klaus said without looking at her "when you were talking to Dr Dole. When is your appointment?"

Hayley bit her lips recognizing that he was still annoyed with her, said "tomorrow at 12. Should we send her to school?"

Klaus said "no, I can come over around that time."

He then focused his attention on the TV without another word.

She went to take the shower whereas Klaus got up and fixed himself coffee and then settled down with Hope again who said "when will I go to school?"

Klaus said "soon love. Do you miss school?"

Hope said excitedly "yes. I have a friend. Her name is Angela."

Klaus said "hmm what is this Angela like?"

Hayley was changing her clothes when she smelled something. she looked around but couldn't figure out where it was coming from and then she dashed out after changing and went straight to the living room and asked "when were you planning on telling me about you getting hurt in the stake out?"

Klaus turned to her while sipping his coffee and said "after my anger at you had cooled down a bit" and started looking at the TV again.

Hayley walked to him and said in a controlled voice "can I talk to you in the room please?"

Klaus said "sure" and got up.

He said to Hope "I will be back in a minute until then you watch it without missing anything. You will have to tell me what I missed. Okay?"

When he entered the room, she was pacing in the room. He sat on the sofa casually and continued drinking his coffee when Hayley snapped "so what happened?"

Klaus said "we were ambushed by a gang. Alexis and I got hit."

Hayley asked trying to keep her voice calm "where?"

Klaus said casually "my ribs and no you cannot see it. If I am not allowed to show concern for you then you can not either."

He got up and was leaving the room when she grabbed his arm and said "what? Are you a child?"

Klaus said prying her hand free off his arm "_I am not._ Just want to tell you how it feels when you care about someone and they don't let you" and left the room.

He was sitting in the living room reading a book when his cell rang. He picked it up and said "Mikealson."

A female voice said "my name is Victoria Lambert. I am Hope Mikaelson teacher. How are you Mr Mikaelson?"

Klaus sat up and said "good. Ms Lambert what can I do for you?" wondering _'why has she called him?'_

Victoria said "I wanted to talk to you about her."

Klaus said "oh okay. Do you want me to come in?"

Victoria said "yes."

Klaus put the cell down, got up to change and said to Hayley "I have to leave at 11. Lets have an early lunch today."

He was getting ready for the work after having an early lunch with Hope and her still not talking to her when she walked to him and said "listen I don't like it that you are upset with me on such a small thing."

He looked at her through the reflection, smirked and said sarcastically "small thing?! You know I can heal and even then you are worried whereas if you get sick you cannot heal."

Hayley stared at him for a moment and then said with frustration "what do you want me to say?"

Klaus turned to her slowly this time and said "nothing. I dont want you to say anything. I want _you_ to stop taking all of this for-granted because _you _should know how dangerous it is for you to get sick right now. I don't want you to go through anything worse then what you already are going through."

When she at last nodded he stepped aside and was walking out of the bathroom when she stopped him by holding his arm and said "no, first you tell me what happened last night."

Klaus sighed and started telling her everything. She gasped when he reached the part where Alexis has found out about his secret. She asked alarmed "what are you going to do?"

Klaus said "nothing. She is my partner and sooner or later she would have found out. Now I have to go and see who attacked us and all that. Will be home late."

He walked away from her

Twenty minutes later he entered Hope's school building. He was led to the principal's office. She was an elderly lady named Emily. As he was talking to her about his job another young girl joined them. The young girl said "hi, I am Victoria. I talked to you on the phone."

Klaus said "Klaus Mikaelson."

She gestured him to sit and said "Let me tell you that Hope is very sweet and very intelligent. It is a pleasure to have her."

Klaus smiled and said "I am sensing a but coming in."

Victoria laughed and said "yes there is a but. I am worried about her."

Klaus asked in alarm "why? what happened?"

Victoria said "she is very quiet. For a child who is about to turn five, she does not seem happy. She has not been coming to school too for a few days. Are things okay at your home?"

Klaus sighed and said "actually I have been meaning to talk to you about her. I just noticed a few days back some things that you are talking about. Generally she is fine at home but there are moments when she seems unusually quiet. The thing is my wife is going through breast cancer treatment and I feel that Hope is starting to pick up that something is wrong with Hayley. I don't know how to help her. Even now Hayley has some complication in her treatment and hence we were asked to take extra precautions to keep her away from germs so we have decided to keep Hope home."

Victoria said sympathetically "oh I am so sorry to hear it. I hope she gets better. That actually could be a reason for her to shut down. We do have school psychologist. If you want someone can talk to her about it."

Klaus said after a moment of though "if it helps her then why sure."

She got up and said "thank you Mr Mikaelsson for coming. Now that I know what she is going through I will keep an eye on her."

Klaus said "she will stay home for a couple of more days."

He got up, shook her hand and left.

He reached the station thinking about Hope and thanked that Alexis was not supposed to come today. He went to this desk, look out his cell and dialed Joseph Barton's number. As the call connected he asked him "how did Laroza got involved? I thought it was Emil Stanton."

Joseph said "Jacob Laroza? hmm interesting. What did you think? It would be easy. You are not dealing with normal people. I assure you Laroza must be involved somehow. He is an idiot who does not know who he is dealing with."

Klaus sighed and said "so how do we get him, this Emil. I dont want him to do something stupid."

Joseph said "don't worry about Emil. I have my eyes on him. If he slips again I will get him."

He added "Also Marcel knows about him too. If he puts one foot out of line, Marcel will take care of him."

Klaus asked "Marcel Gerald?"

Joseph said "yes, he knows about all of us. He sired me. I know you know him too."

Klaus asked "how?"

Joseph said "when I found out about you, I did research on you and found out everything about you."

Klaus said "you will keep your mouth shut about me and I will keep your secret."

Joseph laughed and said "sure" and cut him off. Klaus put the cell down and turn around as he sensed someone.

Alexis entered the station thinking how she will face him. Finding out about who Klaus was a shock for her and she had managed to convince herself in the past few hours that it was a horrible dream but seeing him sitting there gave her a bad feeling feeling that it was not a dream. Klaus got up and walked to her and said "what are you doing here? You were shot. Go home and rest."

Alexis looked at him with weird eyes and spontaneously put her hand over his ribs. When he didn't wince she exclaimed panicking now "oh my god that was not a dream. You really are a…"

Klaus said "shhh." looking around. He held her one arm and took her to one side and said "listen I know what you are going through but you have to come to terms to it quicker for my sake. Why don't you go home? We will talk about it somewhere else."

She looked at him for a moment and left.

Klaus was looking at the door thinking about Alexis's reaction and the new complication when Ben came in the squad room and said "Report of mugging in the mall. Brenton take it. Mikaelson you come with me" And went back to his room.

When Klaus entered the room Ben said "Joseph Barton. Is he playing dirty lawyer or just using supernatural abilities to his gain?"

Klaus said "he is not dirty but yes he is using supernatural abilities."

Ben sighed and said "okay sit."

When Klaus sat down he said to him "I am going to give you a file about my nephew. He was caught in drug dealing a few years back. Barton was working on that case. Of course I ddidnt know who he was at that time. I want to know if my nephew was actually corrupt or Barton did something like compulsion or something."

Klaus took the file and said "I will look into it."

Ben said "no need to say that it is confidential?!"

Klaus said getting up "no" and left.

Later that night Hayley sighed as she looked at his empty side of the bed and while staring at it she fell asleep only to be awakened by someone holding her from her waist. She opened her eyes and saw that he was sleeping next to her. She smiled and closed her eyes again.

When she woke up he was still sleeping. She gently touched his cheek causing him to open his eyes. She put her hand on his hand on her waist and said "I thought you were angry with me!"

Klaus asked in confusion "what does that even mean? Don't couples get angry at each other?"

Hayley said "I guess but …"

Klaus said "no harm in a healthy argument. And by the way I am still annoyed with you but that does not meant that I don't want to do this."

He kissed her hand and got out of bed.

Hayley said "Can you still come over at 12?"

Klaus said "yes"

Hayley sighed and said "Klaus we cannot keep her locked up in the house until I recover."

Klaus said "I know. Lets wait for your results this time and then we can think of something about what to do with it."

Hayley put the lipstick on as she heard the front door open and said to Hope who was sitting on her bed watching something on IPad "Hope I have to go for a while. Daddy will stay with you for a while."

Klaus walked in, kissed Hope on her head and walked into the open bathroom and said "hey I am here. I got the rest of the day off."

Hayley pulled her hair in a pony tail and said "how?"

Klaus walked to her and said "I told Ben about your condition a couple of days ago so that he can give me a little flexibility in schedule if possible. He said I could go home. If something happens he will call me. We live nearby so that is not a problem."

She said "good" and was walking away from him when he pulled her closer to her, kissed her cheek, lingered her lips there, absorbed the warmth from her body and whispered "After I broke up with Caroline I never imagined I could develop such strong feelings for anyone but I was wrong. I am going to wait all my life for you to fall in love with me Hayley. I just wanted to express my feelings for you and tell you that I love you."

Hayley said feeling flustered "Klaus… " but before she could say anything further he said with a smile "no, I didn't say it to put you in spot. I want you to express your feelings for me when you really feel like expressing and not because I told you about mine."

She opened her mouth to say something when she heard Hope asking "mommy what are you doing?"

Klaus laughed, let her go and picked up Hope and kissed her on her cheek.

He said "daddy was telling mommy how much he loves her."

He smiled at the blush appearing on Hayley's face and laughed when she snapped at him "stop it. I have to go now. She hasn't eaten anything yet."

As she started to leave he said "Elijah is coming tonight. I am going to tell Elijah about you and Hope."

Hayley turned to him and said "hmm okay. Do you think he can handle it?"

Klaus said "yes he can."

Her hand was on the knob when he said "your results better be normal. I don't know how long I can wait for to be with you."

He smiled as she turned to him angrily and her eyes widened warningly as they went to Hope and then looked at him she exclaimed with annoyance "Klaus!"

and turned back to leave but not before she heard Hope say "daddy what are you talking about?"

Klaus laughed and said "nothing love. Tell me what do you want to eat" as he carried Hope to the kitchen whereas Hayley left after wearing the mask her doctor had told her to wear while leaving home.

In the evening they were sitting in the living room watching TV; Hope on the carpet, Hayley snuggled close to Klaus. Klaus turned to her, kissed her hand gently saying "I hope your results are normal."

She smiled and said "yep…." and stopped talking when they heard the bell. Klaus smiled and said to Hope "hey lets go and bring uncle Elijah in."

Hope nodded a bit apprehensively but then held his hand.

Hayley walked to Elijah and saw him bending to Hope and saying "I didnt know what to get you. A friend told that you might like a doll. Do you like dolls?"

Hope nodded shyly and hid behind Klaus to Elijah's amusement.

He hugged Hayley and asked "how are you doing ?"

Hayley smiled and said "great."

The rest of the evening went really nice. After a few shy moments Hope opened up to Elijah. It was a great sight to her to see Hope bond with Elijah. After dinner Klaus and Elijah settled themselves in the living room and got lost in their work whereas Hayley went to sleep after putting Hope to bed.

They talked about the case for the next two hours. Klaus felt out of touch in the beginning but then quickly caught up. At last after two hours Elijah started to write down some notes when he suddenly looked up asked "what is it Niklaus? You look disturbed about something."

Klaus sighed, leaned back and said "I need to tell you something."

Elijah put the pen on the table and said "tell me."

Klaus took a deep breath and started telling him about Hayley. When he was done telling him about the past month Elijah leaned forwards and said "wonderful! Any thing else you would like to tell me?" and then as if a thought occurred to him and he asked "does that mean Hope is one too?"

Klaus nodded and said "Hayley has been getting to know her pack for the past one month but then she got sick."

At Elijah confused look he said "her white blood cell count went down so she stopped going to the bayou with the risk that she might catch something there."

Elijah asked sounding concerned "is she getting any treatment for it?"

Klaus said "yes, she is and she is doing better. She got her blood work done today. Will get the results in a day or so. So i was telling you that I think it is a good idea for her to know her pack even if she does not trigger her gene. We have to accept who we are and find balance in our lives. But this you have to keep a secret too just like you are keeping our other secret about Hope. When the right time comes I will tell every one about us but not right now."

Elijah said running his fingers through his hair "okay Niklaus. What are you going to do?"

Klaus said "nothing different then what I am doing right now."

Elijah asked "can triggering her gene cure her cancer?"

Klaus smiled and said "No. I checked. No one is sure it will do or not. Hayley and I dont think it is wroth it unless there is no other option which I am sure we have. She will fight this cancer."

Elijah looked at Klaus who had gotten up and had gone to the kitchen and his heart ached for him. He got up and followed him and said leaning against the kitchen wall "so you have finally done it?"

Klaus poured the coffee and asked "done what?"

Elijah said with a smile "put Caroline totally behind you and fallen in love with your wife."

Klaus laughed and said "I don't know when that happened but yes we are there."

Elijah smiled and said "I am happy to see you happy."

He looked at his wrist watch and said "it is almost twelve. I should leave now. Can you come to the office tomorrow?"

Klaus nodded. After seeing Elijah off he went to bed and went to sleep next to her and then with a very light heart he pulled her from her waist and sighed as she put her hand on his hand.

Hayley felt something soft brush her cheek and she opened her eyes to see Klaus. She smiled at him and asked "you told him?"

Klaus said "yes."

Hayley asked "and how did he take it?"

Klaus said "surprised but in stride. He is worried about Hope though."

He started to get up when she pulled him towards him and got on her knees. She cupped his face, stared into his eyes now looking at him questioningly and said "I love you Klaus Mikaelsons. This is the first time I am telling this to anyone in my adult life."

Before he could react she pulled him toward her and planted a kiss on his lips. Klaus immediately broke the kiss and said "Hayley! what are you doing? Your results are not back yet."

Hayley said with exasperation "Klaus not again! We have been through this. I just touched your lips, your saliva didnt even touch mine."

Klaus leaned close to her until their foreheads were touching and said "this is not fair. I have to go, do something with Elijah and then we cannot even have sex until we get your test results and now you tell me this."

Hayley laughed and said "well you did the same. You think I can think clearly every time you say that to me?"

He looked towards his side table and saw that he had half and hour before getting ready so he pushed her on the bed and said "lets do something about that then so that we can both think clearly for the rest of the day. I don't want my hands shaking while shooting some one" with a twinkle in his eyes.

Hayley laughed and said "but we cannot have sex."

Klaus leaned on her until his lips were almost touching hers and said "well love, we can do plenty without having sex. Let me show you what I have in mind."

She smiled as she felt the kiss land on her jaw and pulled his shirt off of him. He looked into her eyes as his hand sneaked under her bra and teased her breast and smiled as they suddenly went hazy at the same time they heard a knock on the door. He put her forehead against her now laughing gently as Hayley pushed him away from him and said "oh god Hope. I forgot about her."

She sat up and headed to the door while Klaus laid there laughing. He got up too, teased her by grabbing her from her waist on the way to the bathroom, slid his fingers under her shirt while kissing Hope and said "we will continue at tonight" where as Hayley hissed "shhhh" as she put hand on Hope's ear impulsively but she was already asking "continue what mommy?" making Klaus double over with laughter as he shut the bathroom door behind him and Hayley steaming in anger.

When Klaus entered the apartment it was very late. He gave her a fleeting kiss saying "I am sorry, got stuck with Elijah. Where is she?"

Hayley said "waiting for you to come and tell her bedtime story. Honestly you are spoiling her. I am really annoyed at this. You cannot be with her all the time."

Klaus laughed and said "well she goes to sleep with me many times" as he headed to her room she said "by the way my results are normal".

Klaus looked back at her and said "oh good. We should celebrate later" with a wink and went to Hope's room.

She was cleaning the kitchen when she saw him come out of Hope's room with a smile on his lips. She asked him "what happened?"

Klaus said laughing "she was asking me whom I love more. You or her?"

Hayley laughed and asked "and what did you say?" even though she had an idea what the answer would be.

Klaus said with a smile "of course her" as he picked up the remote control and laid on the sofa and then said "ouch" as Hayley hit him with a pillow.

He asked innocently "what?"

She said with a smile "you could have said equally."

Klaus said pulling her towards him "well I don't lie. Have I told you how much I relieved I am that your results are normal."

He lips were almost touching hers when his cell rang. They both looked at the cell and she retreated as she saw Caroline's name on the caller ID but he pulled her back and firmly planted a kiss on her lips and then let her go and picked up the cell. She had just entered the kitchen when she heard him "what?!"

She dashed about of kitchen to see him standing with his fingers in his hair. She looked a him curiously with sinking heart as he said "when?"

He listened to the other side for a moment and then said "okay thanks for telling me Caroline. I will see when I can come."

And put the cell down without listening to what she was saying further.

Hayley groaned inward at hearing Caroline's name but she knew from the look on his face that something had gone wrong. Before she could ask him anything further he dialed again. She walked to him and asked "what happened?" she hesitated for a moment and then asked "is everything okay at your home?"

Klaus shook his head and said "wait" as the call connected. He said "Elijah, Caroline called."

Elijah said "and?"

Klaus said "Tyler triggered his gene."

Elijah said "what? when?" as Klaus heard her gasp. He looked at her having her hand on her mouth. His eyes narrowed and he recalled she and Tyler knew each other. He asked "what?" as he realized Elijah had asked him something.

Elijah said "I said when."

Klaus said "day before yesterday. It was an accident."

Elijah said "oh. What are we going to do?"

Klaus said "going to call Mason. I cannot go to help me right now."

Elijah said "okay. Keep me in the loop."

Klaus put the cell down and dialed Mason's number as he saw Hayley retreat into their room.

As the call connected he walked to the room and saw her sitting on the bed holding her head, he walked to her, sat next to her and asked "what happened?" and then heard Mason's voice "I am already here Niklaus. I will call you when it happens. It is tomorrow."

Klaus said "okay. Call me when it is over." and put the cell down. He looked at Hayley who asked "when?"

Klaus said "day before yesterday."

Hayley asked "how does Caroline know he triggered his gene?"

He thought about how he should tell her being a vampire but then decided against it and said "she knows he is my cousin so she suspects that he must carry the gene too. Remember I told you that I shared everything with Caroline."

Klaus added when she didnt say anything "he is in for a rough road."

He got up and went to change his clothes.

When he came out she was still sitting on the bed. He asked "are you okay?"

Hayley said "I … I dont know. I just dont know how I feel. I know him so I … I dont know. How should I feel Klaus? Is it a good thing to trigger the gene?"

Klaus said as he walked to his side of the bed "no, it is not. It is okay to feel sad for him but it is all okay. He needs to learn to live with it now. He is alive and that is what matters."

Hayley sighed, got up and went to change her clothes.

As she got under the cover, Klaus pulled her close to him and kissed him smack on her lips. Hayley kissed him back and then felt his tongue parting her lips. She moaned as his hands sneaked under her shirt and slipped under her bra and teased her bresat. She arched her back for him to access the hooks of her bra at the back. Once it was unhooked, it didnt take much time for him to get her out of her rest of clothes and he to get him out of his clothes. Hayley didnt know what was more enjoyable; the gentle sucking on her neck or the fingers playing in between her legs, feeling his hardness against her thighs or exploring his mouth with her tongue, him sucking her breast making her clutch the bed sheet to stop the moans escaping her mouth while she let her hands explore his back to or squeezing her breast while his mouth traced kisses all over her face and neck. By the time he took her she felt as if was in heaven and when she whispered "I love you" and he climaxed, the look in his eyes just melted her heart and she planted a kiss on his lips just before he smiled, fell on her nuzzling his mouth on her neck and whispered "I love you too."

Much later he gave her his tee-shirt and wore his pajamas and they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

Next morning, Klaus was pouring himself a cup of coffee she said "Klaus I want to go to the bayou tomorrow Klaus. My white blood count is in range now."

Klaus turned to her and said after recovering from initial surprise "Hayley it is full moon tomorrow. I will be wolf _and you cannot take Hope with you."_

Hayley said calmly but a bit determination "Klaus I am going with or without Hope. This is the only change I get to meet them in human form in the whole month and my next chemo which is coming up in a week by the way."

Klaus said angrily "damn it Hayley. Why are you so adamant?"

When she just stood there looking at him with arms folded across her chest he said "well you cannot take Hope. I am going to Elijah any ways. Will ask him if he can come and baby sit her. Surely He can babysit his niece for one damn night."

Hayley smiled and asked "you are spending too much time with Elijah? any cases you two working on?"

Klaus said "yes there is this one case. Elijah needs my input on that one. Will be back by afternoon."

Hayley smiled and left the room.

Klaus looked at her anxiously feeling angry at her but he had found out during the past one month that if she decided to do something she would do it and left to meet Elijah to help him with his case.

Hayley came out of the room putting on her jeans jacket and saw Klaus sipping his coffee while Elijah was standing near him laughing at something and Hope was nowhere to be seen . Hayley hugged Elijah and said "Elijah thank you for doing this for me. I just want to meet them at least once. She is asleep and knows that you are supposed to be here. Hopefully she will sleep through the night. She normally does not wake up during night. I will be back in a few hours."

Klaus dropped her at the bayou, the he drove the car to the place deep in the bayou where he turned.

While Klaus was running in the bayou in the wolf form, exploring it, Hayley was getting acquainted with her pack. She looked around at men and women she had met in the past one hour now dancing around a fire that they had gathered and then toward Eve who smiled at her as she raised a wooden glass to her. She smiled and looked at a small child she had come to know as Jake during her trips to the bayou talking with a woman whom she assumed must her his mother. Her heart suddenly felt heavy for the child and his mother and the resolve to break the curse become stronger. She startled as she heard a husky voice "hello."

She turned around and saw a very handsome man. She said "hello."

He said "hello" then after a pause added "my name is Jackson, Andrea."

Hayley asked "you know me?"

Jackson said with a smile "yes I know you Andrea. You and I are betrothed to be married."


	20. Chapter 20 Out in the open

**_A/N: Aira thanks for the comment. I know the time span is slow. I am keeping tab of time. You will notice a lot of my sentence have next day or day name evening, morning or something like that or no of days later. The thing is that to show how their relationship evolved I wanted to show every up and down they went through to reach at the point where they were comfortable with each other and could say that three letter sentence and hence detailed scene and spread over two months. Now that they have developed it, from next chapter there will be a time jump in the form of a paragraph because we have established how they feel about each other and what do they do in their routine. Okay so this chapter is again really long. I hope you enjoy it :)_**

**_Synopsis: Klaus becomes jealous of Jackson. Hayley has her last chemotherapy, soon followed by serious illness which forces Klaus's to ask for someone from his family to come and help her during that rough time. Hayley finds out a link to the witch who cursed her pack. Elijah bonds with Hayley and Hope._**

* * *

><p>She recovered quickly and said "oh. I dont know what you were expecting but I am already married" intentionally not telling him about Hope.<p>

She showed him the ring and saw Jackson's face fell and her heart ached for him even though she was meeting him for the first time. They started talking and soon she got so lost in the conversation that she lost track of time. They was later joined by some other people and she found out that Jackson was the current alpha of the pack.

The rest of the night was wonderful. She got to know a lot of people, mingled with them and at last around 6 am she decided to head home.

When she got home Klaus was already home. She looked at him sleeping peacefully, smiled at how her heart had skipped a beat. She at once decided not to tell him about what Jackson. She changed her clothes, feeling content about meeting her family for the first time in her life and slipped under the covers and wrapped her arm around him. Soon she had fallen asleep with a smile on her face.

When she woke up next morning she caught him looking at her. She smiled and asked "how was it?"

He removed the lock of hair from her cheek and asked "you tell me. How was your pack?"

Hayley said "it was nice. I got to meet quite a few people. None of them is a Labanoir so I guess I am the last one. Well no, Hope is the last right now. I got to meet the current alpha of the pack, Jackson…'

Klaus couldn't help but notice the flush sneak on her face at the mention of his name and he felt a pit in his stomach but asked "and?"

Hayley said "and then there is Oliver…"

He smiled even though his heart was racing. He said "tell me about Jackson."

From the slight hesitation she showed he became convinced that she was hiding something. He asked her "what?"

Hayley sighed and said "he told me that we were betrothed to be married when we were kids."

She saw colors pass on Klaus's face and suddenly she laughed and said "You think I am thinking of _what if_. Well you will be happy to know that I am not"

He said "that is good to know" and then groaned as his alarm rang.

She said "why don't you go back to sleep. I will go drop Hope off to school. She should start going now at least. Elijah was sleeping when I came back. I was also thinking of going to French Quarter to find something about Brynne Deveraux."

Klaus sighed and exclaimed "Hayley!"

Hayley stood up and said firmly "Klaus I told you what I want. It is important that we break this curse because if we, Hope and I happen to break the curse, things will go really bad for all of us."

Klaus said in defeat "okay but you are not going alone. I will go with you when I get the time. Marcel knows about you. I don't think he will harm you but I dont want to take any chance."

As she headed towards the bedroom door he said lazily facing towards her "I forgot to tell you. Hope's teacher, Ms Lambort called a few days ago. She is concerned about Hope. So am I. Both of us have noticed that she is getting quieter day by day. I think she is starting to feel something is wrong with you and that is affecting her personality. I told her teacher about you and she thinks talking to a psychologist can help Hope. So I okayed that."

Hayley said anxiously "really! She can sense it. Oh no, I never thought how my illness will affect her."

Klaus said closing his eyes "I did my research and it is pretty normal. If Hope can get help then well and good. She will be okay once you get better but now that we know it is affecting her we should make an extra effort to make her feel safe."

Hayley nodded and left.

Klaus woke up at 9:30 and after taking a quick shower he came out just in time to see Elijah getting up. He said "hey. Going to call Mason. You want to talk to him."

Elijah said "yes."

Klaus dialed Mason number. After a couple of bells he heard Mason's tired voice "Niklaus I thought you of all people would know the hangover after the full moon."

Klaus ignored him and asked "Mason what the hell happened?"

Mason sighed but before he could say anything Klaus put him on speaker saying "Elijah is here too."

Mason asked "you told him?!"

Elijah said sarcastically "thanks for the vote of confidence Mason."

Mason said "Hey Elijah. Good that you know. Just dont trigger it. Your fathers were so careful. What the hell is happening to this generation?! Control your anger."

Klaus said with a slight annoyance "look who is talking. Any way tell me what happened? How did that girl died?"

Mason said "well Tyler says that she was looking through Richard's desk when he walked in. They had a confrontation and one thing led to another it became physical. He pulled her aside. She tripped and fell hitting her head on the corner of the table."

Klaus exchanged looks with Elijah and gestured him to ask "how did his first transformation go?"

Mason said "worse then yours Niklaus but I think he will get to terms with it sooner then you."

Klaus asked "does he know about me?"

Mason said "yes I told him. I think you guys should tell Kol too." His tone changed to annoyance and worry as he continued "if there is anyone in this damn family I was afraid of triggering his gene it is _Kol_. He needs to know before something bad happens."

Klaus said "I am going to Mystic Falls next month. Will tell them about it. It will be helpful if you drop by at that time too."

Mason said "okay. Now let me sleep."

Klaus put the cell down and looked at Elijah and said "Okay. We cannot do anything about Tyler from here but I will give him a call."

Hayley came back from dropping Hope when she saw Klaus and Elijah sitting on the dinning table talking. As she entered the apartment he said "did you meet Lambort?"

Hayley said "yes. She was happy that Hope has come back and Hope was really excited about seeing Angela."

Klaus picked up his coffee, smiled and said "ahh the best friend. I am leaving."

He gave her a fleeting kiss on her cheek and was heading towards the door when he stopped and said a bit sternly "Hayley the thing I told you about dont do it."

Hayley said with frustration "I will not."

After the door closed she looked around and caught Elijah looking at her.

She asked "what?"

Elijah said feeling flustered "nothing. I am not just used to seeing you so relaxed and casual."

Hayley smiled and said "well we are not in office anymore."

She poured herself coffee and asked carefully "can you go with me somewhere today?"

Elijah asked "where?"

Hayley said "I want to go to French Quarter to meet Cami. I promised Klaus that I will not go alone. If you are free can you go with me."

Elijah said "I will be pick you up at 11. Be ready" and left for his office too.

Around 11:30 Hayley walked into Rousseau's with Elijah and looked around.

Elijah said "I dont think you should be drinking with your chemo coming up. But lets go chat with Cami over there."

Cami greeted him with a big smile and settled them down on the bar as she served her customers.

While talking to Cami, she saw a young woman with a bandana on her head come out of a back room and asked Cami "Cami, how many more?"

Cami said "four. Sophie this is Hayley Mikaelson and Elijah Mikaelson. this is Sohpie Deveraux."

Hayley sat up on her chair at the name Devereaux and looked at her curiously.

Sophie looked at her and said "nice to meet you" and then to Cami and said "I have to leave early today so this is the last order."

Cami nodded.

Hayley looked at her and asked "how do you know Sophie?"

Cami said "she is the best gumbo soup maker in the whole French Quarter."

Hayley asked "is she a witch too?"

Cami asked in confusion "what do you mean? witch in the soup making? No. Just meaning too good."

Hayley looked at her and then realized that she does not know about witches and supernatural community of French Quarter.

She said with a smile "oh okay. I got confused."

She looked at Elijah and said "lets go Elijah."

As they left the bar Elijah asked her "what was that about?"

Hayley said "nothing."

Elijah asked "tell me Hayley."

Hayley took a deep breath and told him everything. When she was done she added while sitting in the passenger seat "I want to break the curse. Sophie must be related to Brynne Deveraux. Deveraux is not a very common name."

Elijah exclaimed "are you crazy? Does Niklaus know?"

Hayley looked at him with amused expression making him blush and said "yes he knows."

Elijah exclaimed "and he is letting you do that!"

As soon as the words were out he felt flustered whereas Hayley laughed and said "this is not how our marriage is working Elijah. He knows and he is _willing to help me_."

For the next few days Hayley went to the bayou everyday. Klaus noticed that she often looked lost and unapproachable. At night time too when he tried to hold her she would gently remove his hand in the middle of the night not knowing that he had felt her doing that. She was engaging less and less in conversations with him.

He was sitting at his desk thinking about her and why was she behaving that way when suddenly his thought went to Jackson and it hit him that they were supposed to get married. He wondered_ if she is developing feeling for Jackson considering she is going there every day. Jackson is a wolf right now but that does not mean that she is not in touch with him. Or is it that she has finally found someone, some family that she feels comfortable with and wants to live with them.' _

He looked up from the file as there was a knock on the desk and Alexis said "hey come on. Lets go. Murder at part ave."

Klaus took out his shield and gun and followed her clearing his mind to face the incidence.

As he put the car in gear he asked "what is it?" as he felt her gaze on him.

Alexis took a deep breath and said "I am sorry for the way I have been acting for the past couple of days but you have to see things from perspective."

Klaus smiled as he recalled Hayley saying something along the same lines. He said while taking a fast turn "dont worry about it. Are we cool about it?"

Alexis said "yes we are. And please dont get me killed. I cannot heal."

Klaus laughed, stopped the car and said "well I can die too."

Alexis got out of the car taking out her gun saying "what?"

KLaus said as they walked towards the body "I can heal but if there are a lot of injuries then I can die. Oh no! What is he doing here?"

Alexis asked "Joseph Barton!" as Barton walked to him.

Klaus asked "what are you doing here?"

Barton said "I know this guy."

Klaus asked "who is he?"

Barton hesitated for a moment and then said "he was my informant Matt Anderson."

Klaus said "confidential informant? For whom?"

Barton looked at Alexis and said "Emil Stanton."

Klaus exclaimed "what?"

As he noticed his glance go to Alexis he said "she knows."

Joseph said "yes, he worked for Emil. Two days ago he came to me and told me that Emil was involved in killing of two young kids between the ages of 17 and 18. That got me suspicious and even though Matt didnt know what was happening I at once knew what was happening. Emil was turning them into" he paused, looked at Alexis confused expressions and then added "_you know_. I was shocked because they are just kids. He cannot just turn kids into you know what. I asked him if he had gone to the cops, he said no because he had gone there once in the past but somehow the cops didnt follow up."

He looked at Klaus as he saw realization dawn on Klaus's face and said "Yes you got it. Emil was compelling them to drop the case. We had to be clever to capture him so I asked Matt if he was wiling to wear a wire which he agreed to after a bit of persuasion. Now two days later he is dead."

Klaus thought for a moment and then asked "what were you thinking of doing after capturing him? You couldn't possibly expose him!"

Joseph said "Marcel would have taken care of it but now he has killed Matt we dont have anything unless that wire he was wearing has something on it. I dont know if there is wire on him right now or not."

Klaus asked "his man Matt Anderson! was he one of you too?"

Joseph said "no poor man didn't have any idea. He thought Emil was a psychopath killer. Well jury is out on that one."

Klaus said "okay let me check him. You go and I will tell you what I have found but Barton if I find out that you were involved in whatever Emil was up to, you are going down too."

Joseph smiled and said "keep me in the loop" and left.

Alexis asked "what was that about?"

Klaus looked at Alexis and said "will tell you later. Right now treat this case on the face value. Forget about anything that looks odd to you."

He knelt near the dead body and checked his chest and sighed as he found the wire. He took the wire off the chest and put it in the evidence bag Alexis provided him.

He looked around and asked the officers "any witness."

The officer said "none."

Klaus said "okay take him to the morgue."

He walked to the car with Alexis and said "not here. At the station."

An hour later Alexis was sitting opposite Ben in shock staring at both of them but not asking anything. At last she nodded and said "I am glad you guys told me. Surprising it was not that hard to believe this time. Perhaps because I already know they exist so why not others too?! Now I get it. Barton is a vampire. And that Emil guy is turning kids into vampires. Oh God. Our cases were so simple."

She got up and they both left the captain's office. Klaus said "we have to find a secluded place where we can listen to this recording."

Five minutes later they were sitting in Klaus's car listing to the recording. Half way through the recording shooting happens and it got disconnected.

Alexis said "may be he has more tapes at his home."

Klaus nodded and said "I am so glad you know. It is easy to work when you know about all of this."

An hour later Klaus found a tape taped under the mattress and got Emil talking to someone about killing someone. Klaus took out his cell and was dialing Ben's number when Alexis asked "what are you doing? It is evidence."

Klaus looked at her and asked "Alexis, what do yo think will happen if it gets out."

Alexis looked at her feeling apprehensive and then nodded hesitantly.

Klaus said as the call connected "Ben, we found the tape. Emil is dong what Joseph told us. What do you want me to do?"

Ben said "contact Barton and tell him to handle this case."

Klaus said "he is going to tell Marcel about it."

Ben was quiet for a moment and then he said "okay then. This matter is out of our hand then. It is related to that world so let them handle it. Bigger picture remember."

Klaus nodded and disconnected the call. He called Joseph Barton and told him about everything they had discovered. Afterwards as per Barton's instruction they dropped the tape at his office and left.

During the ride to the station Alexis said "i was thinking why dont you and Hayley come for dinner on Friday."

Klaus said "She has her chemo this saturday. How about after that?"

Alexis said "okay sure."

After reaching the station, when they told Ben what happened with Baron, Ben told them to handle this case as if it has not be solved yet. When they were leaving for home Klaus glanced at Alexis and saw confusion on her face. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her but he couldn't do anything about it. One thing he was sure of was that she will handle it just like Hayley did.

Later that night he pulled her towards him and was kissing her neck when she said "Klaus I don't want to."

He looked at her wondering _'should he talk to her or not'_ and then he turned her towards him and said "that is fine but are you okay? You have been a bit different in the past few days."

Hayley looked at him and then suddenly tears started to fall off her eyes alarming him but before he could even show his concern she said "I dont know what is wrong with me. one second, I want you and the next I am not at all interested. Will I ever get better? And this treatment! What if my blood count is low again? Those damn injections are too expensive."

Klaus looked into her eyes and realized that she was being honest. Suddenly, felt relieved he almost laughed even though her tears were falling on her cheek now. He said wiping her cheek with her fingers "so this is it?! You are worried about the expenses?!"

When she nodded he said "why are you worried about expense? Dont be. Dont you believe that I am capable of taking care of you and Hope?"

when she didnt say anything he said "Everything is great well of course except for you cancer. But we are together and I love you. I can afford it Hayley. You keep on forgetting that I am a millionaire playboy" his tone becoming mischievous by the end of the sentence causing her to give a weepy smile. He relaxed when she said in a weepy voice "only half of that sentence is true. You know that. Right?"

Klaus said bringing her close to him "ouch. That hurt my feelings. Which half? Millionaire or playboy and dont say millionaire because I have this image of myself and you are not allowed to destroy it however I love you."

That just made her laugh. Seeing her laughing made him feel lighter. He leaned in and kissed her and whispered "it will be okay. As long as we are together in this we are okay. Dont worry about anything."

She wiped her tears and hugged him tight pressing her head into his chest and said "I am sorry, I am just not in a mood" as she closed her eyes and fingered her chest.

Klaus kissed her head and said "that is perfectly okay. You only broke my heart. Other then that it is okay."

Hayley laughed and said "well I promise I will mend it tomorrow."

She asked him "what did you think I was not interested in?"

Klaus said "I thought you wanted out."

Hayley looked up at him in confusion and said "wanted out from what?"

Klasu said "from our marriage."

Hayley asked "what? why would you think that?"

Klaus said sarcastically "well I dont know why Hayley? You have not been exactly approachable. Going to the bayou a lot. You have a fiancee over there… Don't laugh" as she started to laugh at the last part of the sentence and continued in annoyance now "I am being serious."

Hayley said "you think I will fall for Jackson when I have such a great person at home."

Klaus felt flustered but said "who knows. May be you will find that he can be better person then me."

The smile slipped from her face as she realized that he was being serious. She cupped her face and said "look at me. I think you are the most wonderful person in the whole world. You told me once that you want to put that incidence behind us so why do you keep on reminding us of that. I love you. I told you that I love you. Dont you trust my feelings for you?"

Klaus sighed and said "yes I do trust you but I dont trust others with you. Winning someone's heart is not difficult Hayley."

Hayley kissed him and said "well mine will be as it already belongs to some one."

Klaus was driving home from his work when he got a call from Marcel. As the call connected Marcel said "why didnt you tell me that Emil Stantson attacked you and your family?"

Klaus said "I just recently found out that Emil Stantson was your guy. Barton told me a few days ago. Has he told you what he has been doing?"

Marcel said "yes, he told me and I have taken care of him. You will not have to worry about him anymore."

Klaus said "oh okay."

Marcel asked after a slight pause "Did you know that Kieran is Cami's uncle?"

Klaus said "no. I dont know about Kieran. Who is he?"

Marcel said with frustration "he is a priest in the Saint Ann's church in French Quarter. He left the town after the death of his nephew, Cami's brother and is back again."

Klaus said with amusement "so Cami's uncle is a priest? Interesting. How did her brother die?"

Marcel said with frustration "no one knows. Apparently he killed twelve young kids in the church and then committed suicide. I think someone put a hex on him. Any way dont get involved in this one. I just wanted to let you know that Emil had been taken care of. Will talk again" and disconnected.

After the call ended Klaus wondered '_why he was not feeling happy about Emil's death?' _and then he realized that being a cop he knew that was not the punishment Emil should have gotten but then he shook his head to stop thinking about him. When he reached home Hayley was laying down the table while Hope was sitting at the dinning table coloring in a coloring book. He kissed Hope and then grabbed Hayley from behind and said after kissing her"the man you put the hit on us has been dealt with today."

Hayley smiled and said "oh that is great. Now lets have dinner."

After dinner, he helped her clean up, watched some cartoons with Hope and then they put her to bed. After that Klaus picked up a book while Hayley put on a show she had been trying to catch up. As she laid on the sofa, he lifted her feet and put them on his laps gently caressing them. She smiled, looked at him and realized that he was not aware of his actions and felt warmth wash over her. An hour later they decided to turn themselves in.

He was putting on his night shirt when she said "Klaus …" at the same time when he said "Hayley…"

They both laughed and said "you go" together.

Hayley said "no you go".

Klaus said "I was going to ask when are you having your next chemotherapy. Your results are normal. Why aren't you getting the appointment?"

She laughed and said "I was going to tell you about that. Coming Saturday. The blood count is good and my body is strong right now so she wants me to go through it now" as she picked up his jacket from the bed and went to the walking closet to hang it. As she turned around she bumped into him.

He smiled and said "your blood count is normal, Chemo is in five days so why dont we make use of that opportunity".

Hayley laughed and nudged him playfully but he grabbed her from her arms and looked into her eyes and then brought her close to him and planted a kiss on her lips.

Hayley was so lost in that kiss that she jumped as she felt his hands slipping under her shirt making her wonder _'when did they get there?' _

Klaus smiled and caressed her breast over her bra with his thumbs and hardened at the look that cross her face. He leaned in and kissed her neck and felt her hands on his back. She pulled his shirt off of him breaking the contacts on her neck and breast just for a second. In a moment he had her pinned against the walking closet door and his left hand was under her shirt sneaking behind the back and flipping the bar open whereas the other had her arms pinned over her head and his lips were busy along her jawline making her squirm and moan under his touch. She longed to touch the soft curls but he had her hands in his grasp so she couldn't do anything other then moan and squirm and pant his name. She jumped as she felt a slight bite on her ear and said "oh god Klaus."

Klaus let go of her hands and aggressively took off her shirt as she fumbled with his pajamas. In no time both of them were out of their clothes. He wrapped his arms around her waist and started moving his lips on her chest just above the breast. Hayley moaned as he lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist and felt him getting harder. She was running her hands on his back, his hair and kissing him on his face hungrily. She bit her lips as his lips moved to her breast making her throw her head backwards and yelped as they started tasting it, slightly biting her. His hands moving to her hips and pulled her towards him.

He wanted to take her right there and then but then suddenly as if everything started to clear up and he stopped. He panted there "I need to get…" and opened the door and carried her to the bed and dropped her on it as he went towards his bed side table.

A moment later she felt him on him torturing her again with his tongue and when he finally finished she felt as if she was in heaven. She kissed his earlobe and whispered "I love you."

Klaus supported himself on his elbows and looked into her eyes, removed the hair from her naked slender shoulder and said "I love you too."

He leaned in and gently planted a kiss on her lips and then stayed there gently kissing her for a few minutes enjoying her tongue inside his mouth while her hands grabbing his hips and gently squeezing them.

He broke the kiss after what looked liked forever and fell on her side. As he pulled her close to him, he whispered into her hair "is it strange that I want you again?"

Hayley said passionately "no because I want you again too."

and before they knew it they were making love for the second time that night. Afterwards they went to sleep, both with smiles on their lips.

Next morning while driving to the station he called Elijah and told him about her chemotherapy appointment and then added "Hope is starting to see that Hayley is sick and it is affecting her. She is scared I think. I want you to keep her while we are at the chemotherapy. can you stay with her for a few hours?"

Elijah said "sure."

Klaus thought for a moment and then said "I was also thinking of asking Rebekah to come and stay with us for a few days. Last time it was tough for Hayley after chemo. Dole said that with each chemo, she will be worse then the last one because her body is already weak from the last treatment."

Elijah said "Good idea then. But tell her before she comes so that she is mentally prepared."

He said "Okay I have to go, reached my station."

Elijah said "can you drop by the office afterwards. I have to discuss something personal with you."

Klaus got out of his car and picked up his cell and said "everything okay?"

Elijah said "yes and no. Come I will tell you then."

Klaus said "okay around 7ish" and entered the precinct.

They both looked toward the captain when he said "Woods, Mikaelson I need both of you in my office right now."

For the next two hours Ben briefed them about the sting operation he had set up with FBI on a gang related shootings happening around the town.

As they were heading towards their desks Alexis said "they are putting their hands in something really big this time. Hope everything goes okay."

He thought for a moment and then said "I will be back" and went towards Ben's room.

He knocked a the door and said "hey I want to talk to you about something personal."

Ben motioned him to come in. He walked in and closed the door behind him.

He sat down on the seat opposite him and said "Hayley's chemotherapy is next week. I was wondering if I can get out of this sting operation."

Ben said "Oh I remember you telling me about her. How is she doing?'

Klaus said "she is a fighter but she has bad and good days."

Ben said "I wish I could help you. You are the most talented in my squad and this bust will be good for your career Klaus. I will try to keep this in mind before we are about to take any action but things are not in my control as FBI is taking over on this one. By the way dont forget you have training coming over in two weeks"

Klaus sighed and said "I understand. Any way. I hope we get them."

He got up and left.

Alexis asked "what was that about?"

Klaus said "Hayley has her chemo this Saturday. I wanted Ben to know so that if this bust happens on Saturday I wouldn't be able to come but apparently I cannot get out of it. I understand his point of view. He cannot do anything about it."

Elijah was looking into the void thinking about what he has been going through for the past couple of days- how he had started to have a desire of having a family of himself after seeing Klaus with Hayley and Hope. The more he had been meeting Hayley the more he was getting confused about things and then it had hit him two days ago that he was falling for his brother's wife. The moment that thought had crossed him he had dismissed it but it was not easy. It kept on nagging him so he questioned himself how was it possible and then realized that he had always liked her but never gave it any importance because of her supposed relationship with his father. How he had missed her when his mother had kicked her out and how much he had missed her. At that time he had thought that he was missing a good secretary but now he was realizing that Danielle was a pretty good secretary but he still missed Hayley so it was not about missing the secretary, it was something else which he had totally ignored at that time and now the time has passed. For the past two days one second he had been cursing himself for thinking this way about the wife of his brother and then the next he was cursing himself for not doing anything when he could have. Even right now waiting for Niklaus he was lost in the same thoughts. He got up in frustration and walked to the window . He was looking out of the window when he heard him say "so what is it?"

Elijah looked towards Klaus, gestured him to sit and said "I have been meaning to talk to you didn't know how and still not so sure, but I have realized that we need to talk about it so here it is. I wanted to tell you that you need to do something about this situation. Ever since you have married Hayley, mother is more insistent about not accepting her. I don't want Hope to become target of her hatred. I am sure you don't want it too. With Hayley's cancer you need to think about both of their future. You job is very unpredictable. You being a werewolf doesn't mean that you cannot die so do something to make their future safe."

Klaus said "yes I have been thinking about it too. I have done something about it. Last week I got a life insurance policy on my life. Also, I have fixed some amount in Hayley's and Hope's name from my part of the property. I was thinking once they meet them and find out that Hope is her granddaughter she might change her mind."

Elijah was quite for a moment so Klaus added "what is it? There is something else too."

Elijah shook his head and said "nothing."

Klaus said "there is something. Out with it."

Elijah said "I am thinking that I should ask Kol to take over New Orleans's branch or Mystic Falls branch. Things are really busy and I can see them slipping on occasion. At first I thought this place is not safe for him considering supernatural life here but Mystic Falls is not safe either. Now with Tyler triggering his gene and other vampires. It is better that he is near you. Kol will be done with his law degree next month. You can help him settle down."

Klaus looked at him thoughtfully and then nodded saying "not a bad idea."

Elijah said "okay good. that is what I wanted to talk to you."

Klaus said "okay then. I have to go now. When will you visit? Hope was asking about you."

Elijah turned away from him saying "I am really busy right now. May be over the weekend."

Klaus looked at his back knowing well something was bothering him but he decided to give him space and said "dont forget you have to keep Hope on Saturday. It is her chemo."

His trained eyes saw Elijah's back stiffen but then he thought he must have imagined it because the next moment he was fine and was saying without looking at him "yes I remember. How long is the procedure?"

Klaus said "if everything goes okay then two hours maximum. If there is some complication then can take longer."

Elijah turned towards him at hearing the concern in his voice and said "it will be okay Niklaus."

Saturday afternoon while driving towards his apartment Klaus looked at Hayley sideways and saw that she was sleeping. He was thinking about how much pain she must be in when she held his hand and squeezed it saying "don't worry. This was the last one. I am glad Hope was not with us this time."

He started to lift her out of the car but she said "no I want to walk" but he didnt put her down.

He helped her in the bed and said "I will tell Elijah that we are home. He can drop Hope at any time now and also bring something for you to eat."

Hayley closed her eyes and didn't know when she fell asleep.

She startled when someone touched her shoulder and said "hey, you need to eat something. Elijah brought soup."

She said "Klaus I am not…." but Klaus cut her off and said "either you drink it yourself or I am going to force it down your throat."

He helped her up as she said angrily "you are a bully you know."

Klaus said "yes I know."

Hayley ignored him and spotted Elijah standing there. She smiled and said "thank you Elijah. Was she okay with you?" taking the soup from Klaus.

Elijah smiled and said "she was perfect and we had lots of fun. Right Hope?"

Hope smiled and said "yes."

She walked to Hayley and climbed on the bed next to her. Klaus went to pick her up when she said "no leave her."

Elijah started to feel awkward so he said to Klaus "okay then I will be leaving but if you both need anything dont hesitate to call, however late it is."

Klaus said "we will."

He then led Elijah to the door. As he was leaving Elijah said "you were right about Hope. She knows that something is wrong with Hayley. She kept on asking about what is wrong with mommy. You need to talk to someone. May be Hope needs help too."

He said "I am" when his cell rang. He groaned and said "wait" as he looked at the caller Id. he said "it is Alexis. You might have to stay. Come in" missing the pained expression on Elijah's face.

He "yes Alexis" when Hope came running out and said almost crying "mommy is sick."

Klaus motioned Elijah to stay with Hope now crying and he himself walked to his room.

The room was empty so he walked in the bathroom and saws her kneeling near the toilet. Hayley looked at him and said "I told you that…" and then started throwing up.

He sat next to her, gently stroking her back and said after listening to Alexis "okay I will be there in a few minutes."

He helped her up and scooped her after she washed her mouth and carried her to the bed. He said "I am sorry Hayley I have to go. Elijah will stay with you. Listen don't hesitate. If you need him for _anything_ call him."

Hayley looked into his eyes and wanted to tell him not to go but she knew his job demanded him to go and if there was something not important he wouldnt have gone. He bend down, kissed her on her lips and said "I will be back soon."

Hayley said "be safe" and closed her eyes.

Klaus walked out and saw Elijah sitting on the sofa with Hope in his lap. He said regretfully "I have to go. They are going to take down a gang and they called me in. Can you stay?"

Elijah nodded and said "what do I have to do?"

Klaus said "just make sure she does not faint or anything. If anything like that happen call 911. Also she might need help getting back from the bathroom but I think she will call you if she needs help."

He kissed Hope and said "Uncle Elijah will stay with you. You help him around the house. Okay. He does not know where things are."

His heart melted as she hugged him tight and said "why is mommy sick?"

He kissed her on her cheek and said "remember I told you we will help mommy get better. She will get better soon. You have been such a great help. Now help uncle Elijah. I have to go love."

He kissed her again and left.

Elijah was trying to read a book after reading to Hope and making sure she was asleep but his mind was somewhere else. He told himself "_not to think about her. She is your sister in law now, mother of your niece, love of his brother"_ as he got up in frustration as he banged the book on the table and wondered _'when will Niklaus come and he can go home. Staying under the same roof with her was becoming more difficult then he had imagine.'_ He spun towards the room when he heard a loud noise coming from there. He darted to it and saw that the bed was empty and bathroom door was closed. He hesitated for a second and then said "Hayley are you okay?"

Hayley said trying to sound strong "yes" and opened the door but feel into his arms making his heart race. He carried her to the bed , helped her with a glass of water and laid her down. He stood there looking at her for a moment noticing some hair strand on the pillow and her eyes closed in exhaustion and then retreated from the room quietly.

By the time Klaus came back it was pretty late. Elijah had also dozed off waiting for him. Klaus gently nudged his foot waking him up. Elijah opened his eyes, looked at him and said "she is pretty bad Niklaus. Does it happen after every chemotherapy?"

Klaus sighed and said "yes. Thanks. Is Hope okay?"

Elijah said "yes, I put her some cartoon on. Hayley was feeling a bit okay for a while so she insisted, changed her and put her in the bed. Just that activity exhausted her. How is she going to handle this?"

Klaus said "she is very brave. She will get through it and I am going to be here for her too. I am taking a couple of days off from Monday."

Elijah looked at him for a moment and was about to say something but then asked "how was you bust?"

Klaus said "oh it went great. We caught the biggest gun smudging gang with the help of FBI."

Elijah said "ok good. Now I am off. It is good that tomorrow is Sunday. I was thinking of dropping by but now that I have seen her in this condition I think she should rest."

Klaus walked to him to the door and said "no, come. It will be okay. Hope will be occupied too."

For the next few days things were a bit shaky. The immediate days following the chemo were the toughest for Hayley and Klaus. She was constantly sick and losing weight, hair and energy. This time Dr Dole had given her a higher doze of medicine for the nausea and she was very careful about taking them so with the passing of time it was getting better. Klaus had been there for her. He had managed to get some time off the work. Elijah often dropped by with food or something, take Hope to a park or just stay indoors with them as they chat. Both she and Klaus started noticing that he seemed somewhat distracted during those visits.

Klaus had taken three day off work during which he spend most of his time with her after dropping Hope off to school. They both had decided not to expose Hope to her illness more than necessary so they decided to continue sending her to the school. While Hope was in the school, Klaus would stay close to her, normally in their bed reading a book while she slept and if she was feeling like they would talk too. They even discussed what was wrong with Elijah but when Klaus told her that he was tired because of his routine and his plans for bringing Kol to New Orleans she got satisfied to some extend.

Alexis brought in dinner on the fourth day of her chemo. She and Alex stayed for a while as they talked about different things, about her wedding preparations, about work while Hope played with the toy kitchen set she had brought for her. Not from a single thing, Alexis gave Hayley this impression that she knew about Klaus secret which was a big relief to her. Looking at her and Klaus in close proximity for the first time made her realize how much they knew about each other and she realized spending so much time together and depending on each other to protect their lives requires that. She was feeling very satisfied by the time they were leaving. Knowing that Klaus has someone to watch his back. For some reason she found it very odd that she was not jealous of Alexis and his relationship.

Klaus started going to office four days after her chemo as she started to throw less and less and was feeling much better. Once she started feeling better often they ended up snuggled close to each other after making love to each other which initially Hayley was not willing to do because of her fear of transferring the medicine into his system but he assured her that they are using precautions so she gave in at last or just lie fully clothed in each other's arms if she would get tired after their teasing sessions. Hayley felt really frustrated during those time but he would hold her close to her and reassure her that they will pick up next day and he would fulfill his promise however tired he was after coming from work.

Monday following her chemo when he came back from the work, it was late and she was already in the bed. He fixed himself some dinner, checked on Hope, fixed her blanked, kissed her and after taking a long relaxing shower went to bed too. He was holding Hayley from her waist as she slept and was himself almost asleep when his cell buzzed. He looked around at the cell, picked it up and then groaned as he saw Caroline's name on the caller ID. He let it go to voice mail and snuggled against Hayley again and soon fell asleep.

Next morning he was taking shower when he heard his cell ringing. Hayley was leaving the room when she heard him say "Hayley check it. Elijah said he will call. Tell him I will call him a bit later."

Hayley picked up the cell and said "hello."

Elijah felt as if he lost his voice. He cleared his throat and said "hey Hayley. How are you?"

Hayley smiled and said "Elijah, I am fine. How are you? You never came back after that day. Hope had been asking for you."

Elijah paused for a second and then said "I have been really busy for the past couple of days. I will visit as soon as I can. I miss her too. Is Niklaus there?"

Hayley smiled and said "no he is in the bathroom. He was expecting a call from you. He told me to tell you that he will call you first thing after he gets out."

Elijah said "okay then. Bye" and disconnected before she could say anything.

Hayley put his cell down wondering _'what was wrong with Elijah?' _

She looked at the phone ideally and saw a missed call from Caroline.

Curiosity and suspicion why she was calling him got better of her. She wondered _'should she or not'_ and then she looked towards the bathroom door and with sight hesitation she pressed the message button and stared at the wall ahead as she heard her slurry voice "Niklaus I love you. I had not realized how much I love you but ever since you broke up with me for that slut. I know you love me and when you said you were happy to hear my voice the other day I knew you still love me. I think we can make it work. You and I can work…"

She hastily put the phone down as she heard the shower turning off and with heavy heart she left the room now convinced that Caroline will never let go of Klaus.

She was pouring coffee in her cup thinking about Caroline's message when Klaus came into the kitchen, grabbed her from her waist, kissed her on her neck and said "I have been thinking that you should learn how to fight. We are in supernatural world now. You need to know how to define yourself without using a gun. What do you say? You are feeling better these days. Are you up for some combat training?"

Hayley recovered, melting by the way he was nuzzling his lips in her neck, couldnt help but smile. She turned to him and realized that he was being serious and said "you are not joking?!"

Klaus asked "do I look like I am joking?"

Hayley said "but Klaus.." but then an image of a person advancing towards Hope flashed through her mind and she nodded and asked "when and where?"

Klaus said "how about during lunch time today?"

He stepped back as Hope walked in the kitchen holding her doll and asked "daddy can you drop me to school today?"

KLasu looked at her curiously and said "yes. Sure love. have you had your breakfast?"

Hayley nodded sipping her coffee. He said "okay then, lets go". He picked up his coffee and left with Hope.

After dropping Hope as he was driving towards the station he pressed the missed calls button after wondering why was Caroline calling. He pressed the voicemail button on the cell and listened to her voicemail and then pressed the delete button wondering if Hayley had heard her or not because it was not an unheard message.

He put the thought behind his mind as he entered the station.

Around lunch time Alexis said "so lunch. Where today?"

Klaus picked up his car keys and said "Hayley and I are going to go to hit the gym. I want to give her some combat training lessons. Hope is at school so this is the best time."

Alexis smiled and said "oh good. Date?"

Klaus laughed and headed out saying "kind off."

He called her from the car telling her to get ready so by the time he reached his apartment she was ready and was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs of his building.

On the drive to the gym from her reaction he realized that either she had heard the message and she does not want to bring it up or there was something else wrong with her. He decided to talk to her about it later at night when there is no distraction.

He smiled as she looked at him, standing a few inches away from him biting her lips, thinking about something. His experience was yelling at him that she was up to something but didn't guess what until she grabbed him by his tie and pulled him towards her and planted a kiss on his mouth. Even though he had an inkling that it was a distraction, he started kissing her back. As soon as he started to kiss her he felt a jolt as she yanked his hair with her left hand while letting go of the tie and her right elbow up on his face just stopping before making contact with his jaw. He laughed and said "good job love. And you were listening! I thought you were just mesmerized by my voice."

Hayley laughed and said "of course I was listening."

He smiled and said "that was when you are inches from your attacker."

They both stood in combat position and Klaus said "Now when they come from the front and you have to cover some distance to reach them, you can make a raise your palm and palmed in their nose and as the attacker will be doubled over you can do one final thing and kick him hard in his balls. Try it."

Hayley looked at him and said "are you kidding me? I want to keep that asset intact and your nose! I happen to like that too."

He laughed, stepped forward and held her by her waist and said "too? what else do you like about me?"

Hayley smiled and then elbowed him in his ribs and spun around freeing herself from his grasp while bringing her hands in a defensive position. Klaus laughed, straightened and took a step closer to her and swung his leg in the air as Hayley got distracted by his smile. She fell on the padded mat with a thud. He got on his knees pining her under him and said "so what else you like about me?"

Hayley smiled and shook her head squirming under his hold; the hand hold on her wrist and the knees holding her in the spot. He leaned in and kissed her and said "I like everything about you" removing all kinds of doubt from her mind about him and Caroline. She realized at that moment that if Klaus keeps on loving her like that then she does not care what Caroline thinks or wants from him.

Hayley smiled "let me go and I will tell you what exactly I like about you."

Klaus looked at the twinkle in her eyes and notice that her body had relaxed by his sentence and hit him that something has happened and he knew. He leaned in and said "you heard her message?!"

Hayley stopped struggling under him and looking into his eyes she nodded and then added "I know I shouldn't have but I was just curious. I am sorry I will not hear your messages again."

Klaus didnt say anything for a moment and then asked "aren't you going to ask me how I feel about it?"

Hayley said with a smile "as long as we both feel the same about each other I dont care."

Klaus smiled and asked "what way?"

Hayley said with a teasing smile "let go of me and I will show you."

As he let her arms go, she put her hand on the sides of his torso and pulled herself up and as his lips neared her lips she winked and pushed him to one side so that now he was under her now laughing. She sat on him, saddling him, leaned in and kissed him hard on his mouth and aid "this much."

Klaus was laughing when suddenly he noticed her wrist as she took them to her hair. He grabbed them and asked "what happened?"

Hayley looked at them in confusion and said "I dont know."

Klaus pushed her off of him and said "I must be holding you too tight."

Hayley said "no no. not at all."

He ran his fingers through his hair and said "I am such an idiot. You can easily bruise because of your chemo. You body is not strong enough. Lets do this after you start to recover."

She nodded and looked at her wrists which had turned dark red with finger prints on them. She touched the right hand worst with the left hand and said "ouch".

Klaus said "let me see."

He held her hand and then he said "lets go to ER."


	21. Chapter 21 Life goes on part 1

**_A/N: thanks for wonderful comments. This chapter has really gone long again. Hope you enjoy it. _**

**_Synopsis: Rebekah visits New Orleans. Klaus investigates a case that hits too close to home. Someone finds out that Elijah has feelings for Hayley._**

* * *

><p>Next morning after dropping Hope off to school, doing her house chores, she looked at the time and realized that it was twelve so she thought for a moment and then with determination decided to go to French Quarter. Forty five minutes later she walked into Rousseau's and asked Cami "hey where is Sophie? I need to talk to her about something."<p>

Cami pointed towards the door at the back of the bar while pouring a drink to a customer.

Hayley walked in a room that looked like the kitchen and went directly to Sophie and asked her "are you related to Brynne Deveraux."

Sophie asked "why do you ask?"

Hayley said "I am interested in knowing about her. I am writing an article about witches and I want to know about her. I heard that she was the one to put the curse on the Crescent pack in the bayou."

Sophie said "why are you interested in the Crescents? You are not a wolf."

Hayley smiled and said "no I am not but I know someone who is and I want to know what happened to that pack."

Before Sophie could say anything the door opened and she spun around to see another girl walking in.

Sophie said "Hayley this is Sabine. She is a witch too. Sabine this is Hayley. I got to know about her recently through Cami."

Sabine nodded and said "I know who you are."

Hayley felt her heart beating out of her chest and asked "what do you mean?"

Sabine said "you are t_hat werewolf's wife_. The one who attacked those vampires here couple of months ago."

At the confused look on her face she continued "Klaus Mikaelson."

Hayley looked at Sophie who was also looking at her and said "yes I am but I don't know anything about the vampire attack or anything."

Sophie said "you shouldn't be here. If Marcel finds out that you are a werewolf's wife, you are in deep trouble."

Hayley asked innocently "why?"

Sophie looked at Sabine and then said "werewolves are banned in the French Quarter."

Hayley said "but I am not a werewolf."

Sophie said "you should leave."

Hayley looked at her with disappointment but then left.

After dinner Hayley put the dishes in the dishwasher and turned around to look at Klaus who was lying on the sofa looking at the TV. At first she thought that his silence was due to his work, but now she was sure that it has something to do with her because otherwise he would be in the kitchen helping her. Even though she was prepared for his confrontation but still she was taken aback when he asked her as they both got under the covers that night "where did you go today?"

Hayley said "I …"

Klaus said coldly "before you start I want to tell you Cami called today."

Hayley said "I wanted to tell you but I I know how much you didnt want me to go there so I decided not to tell you, I didn't want you to be angry with me."

Klaus sighed and asked "Hayley do you even understand why I dont want you to go to French Quarter."

Hayley said "I know Klaus but they don't know me. I met Sophie Deveraux today."

Klaus sat up and exclaimed "Deveruax as in Brynne Deveruax?!"

Hayley said with a smile "I knew you would be interested in it."

Klaus looked at her with annoyance, but curiosity won and he asked "and what?"

Hayley decided to not tell him that they know she is his wife and said "I met another witch Sabine something. We talked in general. I asked them how this witchcraft works but of course they didn't tell me anything so I left."

Klaus sighed and said "Hayley, I know you will not listen to me but please dont hide things from me however annoyed they make me."

Hayley couldn't help but laugh. She said "okay but I want you to help me get more information on Sophie Deveraux from Marcel."

Klaus said "alright. May be on Sunday. Alexis is getting married on this Saturday."

Hayley said "oh. I need to get something formal for her wedding."

Klaus laid down, closed his eyes and said "yes. I like blue."

He opened his eyes and winked at her making her heart skip a beat. he then added "Hope is invited too so get something for her too."

Hayley said "okay."

As she started to lay down he pulled her towards her, kissed her and before she knew it he was making love to her.

Hayley went to the bayou next two days after dropping Hope off school to meet with Eve. She told her that she was looking into the curse put on the pack and before she knew it was weekend. She had been feeling really tired since the morning but she knew that she had to accompany Klaus to the wedding so half hardly she dressed Hope in a pink dress and went to take shower too.

She fixed her hair feeling very self-conscious as she realized that they had thinned out further and then she touched the slight circles under her eyes and applied some more makeup to hide them. She put the touch of lipstick on her lips wondering _'should she go in this condition? But Alexis is Klaus's partner. He has to go."_

Klaus looked at her dressed in a blue silk knee length dress and smiled and walked to her.

She startled as she felt arms go around her waist and touch of soft lips on the side of her neck and whisper "you look beautiful."

Hayley smiled and said sarcastically "good that was the aim. As long as I am not looking prettier then the bride all is good."

He laughed and said "okay lets go."

She looked around and saw Hope dressed in the pink dress she had bought a couple of days ago. She gulped her tears as she saw her twirling in the middle of room oblivious of the fact that her parents were looking at her. She said "promise me you will make sure…"

But Klaus cut her off by saying "don't even go there Hayley. You will recover."

He kissed her on her mouth and said "okay lets go. We are getting late."

She fixed a smile on her face even though her body was screaming at her to lie down and go to sleep for two days straight.

An hour into the party she started to feel really bad. She excused herself from the lady she was talking to and headed towards the bathroom not knowing that Klaus's gaze was following looked at herself in the mirror and sighed as the fatigue took over. She cursed herself for not listening to her instincts which were telling her not to come to the wedding. She spun around as she heard the knock on the door and said "in a minute."

Klaus saw her heading in one direction. Even from the distance he could see her getting paled and he knew that she was not feeling well. He excused from Alex and went after her. He knocked at the door.

She took a sigh of relief when she heard Klaus ask "Hayley are you okay?"

She opened the door and said "no, I feel so tired. Can we go home please?"

Klaus held her arm to support her and said "yes. Let's go."

She took one step and slid into his already wrapped around her waist arm. She said "dont carry me. I don't want anyone to…" but he was already carrying her and taking her out of the room.

They collected Hope and went home. When she continued to feel bad throughout the night he suspected her blood count was low again so he got an appointment for her the first thing in the morning which luckily he got for the very same day.

In the afternoon he was waiting in the waiting room with Hope in his lap who was telling him about what she played at the wedding with other girls when the doctor came out and said "it seems that she has been bitten by something. Considering how weak her body is, it is affecting her badly then it does to normal people. Was she somewhere she could have gotten herself in such a situation?"?

Klaus looked at her in alarm and said with a sinking heart "yes she was. She has been visiting the bayou. Doing some research on something."

Dr Dole said "that can do it. Mr Mikeason she should not be going there in her condition. You never know how is her immunity is at any time during her treatment and what she might catch. Please make sure that she stays away from situations that can harm her."

Klaus said "I will but right now what are we doing to do?"

Dr Dole said "she is starting to have temperature. We are going to try to keep it low for now and hope that her body starts fighting the disease. In the mean time I have ordered the blood test to check her white blood count."

Klaus went to her room and saw that she was sleeping. He put Hope on the ground and said "shh, mommy is sleeping" and then went to sit on the sofa near her bed."

He took out his cell and wondered '_what should he do? His training starts in three days. Should he back out? but a lot of people were depending on him.' _

He groaned and then he got up and left the room holding Hope's hand and dialing Rebekah's number.

After initial chit chat he said "Rebekah can you come over for a few days. I have a training coming up and I have to leave for four days. Hayley is sick and I need you to be with her."

Rebekah said adamantly "no Nik, I will not stay in that house where that woman who destroyed the image we had of our father, took part of what was rightfully ours and almost give mother a heart attack lives"

Klaus ran his hand over his hair and said "I know you are upset with me but I need you."

Rebekah said still in the same tone "Nik I…"

He said "please come. Believe me if I had an alternative I wouldnt have called you. Elijah is here but I cannot ask him to help with Hayley all the time. He has business to attend to. You can take some time off from the school. Hayley needs someone to be with her all the time and I cannot get out of this damn training."

Rebekah sighed with frustration and said "okay I will but what is wrong with her. Surely she can handle flu."

Klaus looked toward the room and said "she has cancer. She is going through chemotherapy and it has weakened her body. And now she has caught some infection and her body is not fighting it because her immune system is compromised."

There was a silence at the other end of the phone so he said "Rebekah?!"

Rebekah came out of trance and said "Cancer?!"

Klaus said "yes. when can you come? I have to leave in three days. I want you to know what you are getting into before I leave and how to take care of her and Hope."

He took a sigh of relief when she said "I can be there tomorrow. Get me a seat for tomorrow."

That night Dr Dole kept Hayley at the hospital while Klaus took Hope home as she was starting to get tired. After putting Hope to bed next to him he booked a flight for Rebekah the following afternoon.

Next morning he changed Hope, gave her breakfast, noticed that she was very quiet, tried to chat with her but she didn't respond, dropped her at the school a bit early in the early bird class, told her teacher what has happened and that she will be staying in after school club too and left for the hospital. When he reached near her room Dr Dole met him walking down the corridor. She said after initial greetings "her condition was worsening with time, her temperature was spiking so we have put her in incubation and no one is allowed to see her."

He stood there looking towards her room and then took out his cell and called Ben. After telling him what has happened he said "I will be late."

After putting the cell down he called Elijah and asked as soon as the call connected "Can you come to the Memorial right now? Hayley is sick and I have to go to work. I cannot get out of it."

Elijah asked "what happened?"

Klaus said "you come and I will tell you" and put the cell down.

He put the cell down and cursed the meeting he was supposed to have with the commissioner about the protection detail for some hot shot.

After Elijah reached the hospital he explained him what had happened and then left without noticing that Elijah had suddenly gone very pale.

His mind was not on his job all day. He was distracted in the meeting too which didnt go unnoticed by Alexis and Ben but he couldnt get out. He was losing temper right and left and constantly on phone with Elijah to get updates on her condition but to his dismay things were not improving.

Around 4 pm he said to Alexis "I am leaving. Rebekah is coming. I have to pick her up and then Hope and then go to hospital. You can handle here right?"

When she nodded he left.

He put her bag in the trunk and said "thanks for coming Rebekah. We will go straight to the hospital after picking up Hope from school."

Rebekah looked at him looking tense and let go of her anger and said "I am sorry Nik about Hayley."

Klaus looked at her and said "I will be gone for four days. They have admitted her. I dont know for how long. She is in incubation so you will not have to stay with her. In fact you have to take care of Hope. Hope had started to notice that Hayley is sick and it was causing her depression so as per her teacher's suggestion she is seeing a school psychologist which is actually helping her but since yesterday she has gotten quiet again. I want you to bond with her before I leave. You can do that right?"

Rebekah nodded and then asked "how long has she had cancer?"

Klaus said "January. Before I met her."

Rebekah said "who is with her right now? You said you couldn't ask Elijah to be with her. Does he know?"

Klaus said "yes he knows. When he came to visit us the first time I told him."

He parked the car in the parking lot and said "I will be back."

He ran into the building as he realized that he was late. As expected Hope was waiting for him. She walked to him looking sad and asked "why are you late? where is mommy?"

Klaus picked her up, thanks Ms Lambort"and said "I was held in traffic love. Come, aunty Bekah is here to see you."

Hope asked "I want mommy" almost crying now.

Klaus pulled her closer to her and said "lets go and see mommy. Do you want to see her?"

Hope put her hands around her neck very tight and said "mmmhn" nodding her head against his neck.

As he was heading towards the main door, Victoria said "she had a session with Maria today, the school psychologist. She wants to talk to you and your wife. I understand that she cannot come but you have to come. When can you come?"

Klaus said feeling his heart sinking with the way Hope's hand were tightened around his neck and his face buried in his neck "I can come tomorrow. Can my sister come with me? She will take care of Hope while Hayley is in hospital and I am on my training."

Victoria said "yes. sure. the more family she has around her right now the better for her."

He thanked her and left. As eh walked to his car he asked her rubbing her back "did you have fun at school?"

He felt her move her neck and say "I want mommy." and startled as he felt tear drops on his neck. He separated her from him as he reached his car and opened the car door. As he settled her down in the carseat and wiped her tears she started to cry and say "I want mommy."

Rebekah had turned around to see Hope for the first time but hearing that just broke her heart for which she was not ready. She looked at teary face and her brother wiping her tears saying "we are going there."

He looked at Rebekah and said "look who is here. This is your aunt, Rebekah. Say hello."

Rebekah's heart melted as she snuggled closer to Klaus and said shyly "hello."

Rebekah said with a smile"hello Hope. I wanted to meet you so bad. How are you?"

Hope looked at her and then looked at Klaus and said "when can we go to mommy?"

Klaus sighed making Rebekah feel sorry for him. She said "right now. lets go Nik."

Thirty minutes later they were walking towards her room. Rebekah noticed that Hope had immediately asked Klaus to carry her as they reached the hospital. When they reached out her room, they saw Elijah looking at a file. He looked up and smiled as he saw Rebekah. He got up, hugged her, kissed Hope who snuggled closer to Klaus making him narrow his eyes. Klaus shook his head and asked "how is she?"

He said "she is stable right now but the doctors want to keep her under observation and still incubated. Her white blood cell has really gone down. Around 2000 which is extremely low apparently. They have put her on high doze medicines and just hoping that her body will respond to them soon."

He looked up as he saw Dr Dole approaching them. He gave Hope to Elijah saying "love I need to talk to mommy's doctor" and walked to her and said "how is she?"

Dr Dole said "she is awake right now. She was asking for you. You can see her but you have to wear mask, gown and gloves."

Klaus said "oh okay good."

He put on mask, gown and gloves and entered the room. She looked at him and smiled but he could see that she looked tired. As he approached her she asked "where is Hope?"

Klaus held her hand and said "she is with Elijah. I asked Rebekah to come. She is out with her too. How are you feeling?"

Hayley said "I am sorry for putting you through this. you were right. I shouldnt have gone to bayou in my condition."

Klaus said kissing her hand through the mask bringing tears to her eyes "no one could have predicted this Hayley. You will get better."

She looked into his eyes and said "I feel so guilty for putting you through this…"

but he cut her off by saying "listen I dont want to hear any thing like this. I wanted to remind you that my training is coming in two days. I cannot get out of it. I will be gone for four days. Rebekah and Elijah is here for you and Hope. Will you be okay?"

Hayley nodded as he wiped the tears leaking from her eyes. She asked "can i see Hope?"

Klaus said "it is not a good idea. You are sick. She might give you something."

Hayley said almost pleading now "please."

Klaus sighed and said "okay let me see what can I do."

He kissed her on her forehead cursing the mask being hindrance between his lips and her skin and then retreated.

Rebekah looked at Elijah talking softly to Hope about her school and realized that somewhere along the line Hope has gotten really attached to Elijah and she felt a punch to her stomach which she realized to her shock was jealousy. She looked at Dr Dole talking to the nurse about Hayley when the door opened and Klaus stepped out. He took off his mask as he walked to Dr Dole. She smiled as she saw Hope slip down from Elijah's lap and ran to Klaus who picked her up. He said to the doctor "Haley wants to see Hope. Can she go in wearing mask and gown?"

Dr Dole looked at Hope sand said "I wouldn't advise that. She has just become stable. Hope can see her from the window. You can bring her near the window."

Klaus took Hope to the window from which they could see Hayley. As he saw a nurse went inside, talked to her about something and then helped Hayley up and walked her to the window. She put her hand on the glass and smiled. He put Hope's hand on the glass touching Hayley's. He could see Hayley's tears coming down her cheek. His heart broke as Hope said "mommy" and tried to reach out to her.

Hayley could see from the motion of her body that she wanted to come to her so she put her fingers to her lips, kissed them and put them on the glass where Hope had her hand. Klaus pursed his lips, stepped back while Hope started crying "mommy."

He was trying to comfort her when Rebekah walked to him and said "listen I think you should take her home. It is not fair to both of them to see each other but not touch her. Lets go home."

Elijah said "Rebekah you are welcome to stay at my house while Niklaus is gone but I think it will be good for Hope to have the familiar environment under the circumstances."

They both nodded and left for Klaus's apartment while Elijah left for his.

When they reached home, Klaus settled Rebekah in Hope's room, decided to get a mattress for Rebekah to sleep on the floor. That night was surprisingly more difficult then the previous night and he wondered why was that and he realized that it was because of Hope getting scared of so many changes; the confusing and unhappy changes in her life. She had insisted on sleeping with him that night. He laid in his bed late into night while her small warm body snuggled to him and at last he managed to get some sleep.

For the next two days he helped Rebekah familiarize with the apartment, Hope routine. Even though Hope was not going to Rebekah but she was getting this that this woman is there to help her. He made it a point to take Hope to visit Hayley who was out of incubation just before he left as her blood count started improving. Klaus had a day off before going to the training. Elijah and Rebekah helped him and Hope by doing what they could.

Rebekah tried to get comfortable with Hope even though she still felt resentment towards Hayley but she soon realized that Hope needed her and she does not deserve the resent Rebekah has for Hayley. After that first day she never went to visit Hayley because Klaus wanted her to stay with Hope all the time. The day he was off from the work he along with Rebekah went to Hope's school to talk to her psychologist. After an hour of discussion they all reached this conclusion that they will have to tell Hope something about Hayley's illness so he decided to talk to Hope after he returns from the training thinking that in the meantime Hayley will come home too. On the third day of her admission to the hospital Klaus left for his training with a heavy heart, leaving a crying Hope, a depressed Hayley, anxious Rebekah but with hope that everything will be okay by the time he will return.

One day after Klaus left for his training Hayley was discharged from the hospital after her blood work came back normal but she was forbidden to go to the bayou or any such place where she could catch something. It was first day Klaus had gone. She felt really depressed lying down alone in the bed as she realized that she couldnt even talk to him as they were supposed to be out of contact with them. Rebekah was staying in Hope's room while they settled Hope on a mattress on floor. Hayley wanted Hope to stay with her but Rebekah and Elijah thought it would be best if she is not interrupted at night time.

For the next three days Rebekah was with her at all times. Her nausea was greatly improved, her hair were still falling and now she could see skin on various spots so she had started to loosely tie them all the time now. Night times were hardest as she missed him the most. In the beginning there was this awkwardness between her and Rebekah but then somewhere in those three days that went away. It was not that they had become best friends but she didn't look at her with hatred anymore. Sometimes they even talked a little bit. Hayley appreciated it that she never brought up Mikael or Caroline. Hayley could see how much effort she was putting in taking care of Hope and her. Hope had given her a tough time in the beginning about not listening to her, asking about Hayley a lot and missed Klaus but Rebekah handled her very patiently. As a result she had started to listen to Rebekah at least. She was also thinking about how can she help her pack considering her condition. if she cannot meet them then how can she help them. She decided that when he will come back she will ask his active involvement thinking that if she cannot go then he can go to the bayou for her.

Elijah had tried to visit once every day but she was noticing that he looked tense around her. She wondered _'is he feeling obligated because of Klaus?' _That thought just made her feel terrible but she couldn't do anything about it thinking that Klaus was not here and she was not still 100%. Even if she could manage herself she needed them for Hope.

She was deep in her sleep when she felt an arm around her and fresh smell of soap. She practically yelped when she heard his whisper "hey, it is me."

Hayley asked after catching her breath "when did you come back?"

He said with a smile "half an hour ago. I decided to clean up before getting close to you."

She sensed a touch of smile on his lips. She slipped her hands under his shirt when he held them and asked "are you feeling okay?"

Hayley leaned in and kissed him saying "now that you are home. I am perfect. I missed you so much."

Klaus asked as he sneaked his hand under her shirt making her squirm "me or this?"

Hayley said "of course this."

He stared into her laughing eyes and then pulled his hand back making her say "aww don't be like that."

He pushed her on the bed until her back touched the bed and got on her supporting herself on one hand and whispered "and I thought you were missing me."

Hayley shook her head saying "you are wrong."

Klaus stared into her smiling eyes and said "hmm at least you missed something about me."

She cupped his face and said "why are you so sweet to me?"

Klaus said "I thought that will make you miss me more but apparently my approach was not right. I have to change my tactics with you."

Hayley laughed and said "whatever you do, I will never change my mind about you."

Klaus smiled and brought his lips close to her lips almost touching them and asked "and what is that?"

Hayley shifted a bit and wrapped her legs around his waist and said "that I love you just a little less then I love Hope. Now will you kiss me or I have to beg for it?"

Klaus laughed and planted a kiss on her mouth and immediately felt her returning it. She slightly pushed her tongue on his lips as her hands lifted his shirt off. She could feel his hardness against her thigh and wanted him so bad that her hands were actually shaky. He took off his shirt and looked at her torso only clad in a black lacy bra. He leaned in and kissed her nipples making her moan. She whispered "Rebekah is in Hope's room."

Klaus smiled and said "very romantic Hayley!"

Hayley said now laughing "I meant…"

He move his lips to the other breast making her gasp and said "I know what you mean love. I know. So you have to very very quiet."

She understood what he meant when he started torturing her body like he had never done and she had to bite her lips to stop the moaning. She grabbed her pillow as his lips moved down her now naked body and trailed kisses on every inch of her body. She grabbed his hair after a few moments as they were sucking her flat belly and panted "I cannot keep myself quiet anymore so please stop."

He laughed and said_ 'you don't have any self control. I had just started."_

As he shifted himself on her she grabbed his naked ass and said "Do you want me to beg?"

Klaus shook his head, removed tendril of hair from her face noticing that he could see the skin on her head. He got off of her just for a second but was back before she had moved an inch on the bed. By the time he was done she had her eyes closed, her legs around his naked ass, her fingers twinned with his fingers, her mouth resting on his shoulder, his lips resting on her neck, sweat running through their bodies. She smiled and opened her eyes as she felt the gentle kiss on lips and a whisper "good job love. You were very quiet."

She ran her fingers through his hair and said "how can you be so romantic to me?! I dont even look nice these days."

Klaus rolled over off of her and said "who says?"

She smiled, snuggled close to him wrapping her arm around him and kissed his naked shoulder and closed her eyes.

Klaus laid there with heavy heart thinking about what she was going through and how she was starting to doubt his love for her because of her looks. He didnt know how to comfort her in that matter.

Klaus realized that she had fallen asleep, he smiled, pulled the duvet to cover them and fell asleep too. Next time he opened his eyes he could feel the warm breathing against his chest. He kissed her hair and continued to lie with her like that.

About thirty minutes later she stirred next to him. She opened her eyes and said "you dont have to go to work today?"

Klaus said "no. They gave us one day off. I am all yours today and Hayley!"

When she looked up at him with questioning glance he said "Happy birthday."

Hayley said "but my birthday was in…" she paused and then laughed and said "oh right thanks."

He asked "what do you want to do today?"

She said "we can go out for dinner."

Klaus said "I will ask Rebekah to baby sit."

She asked in confusion "what do you mean?"

Klaus said pulling her close to him "well I want to have a date with my wife. What is there not to understand?"

Hayley laughed and said "sure."

He kissed her and ran his hand on her still naked breast, kissed her on her neck, moved his hand a bit down, teased her a bit and before she knew it he was on top of her and making love to her.

Later she got up and put on her clothes while he went to take shower.

While she was taking shower he was making coffee when Rebekah walked in with a still groggy looking Hope. Rebekah looked at him and smiled and then her smile widened as she heard Hope squeal with pleasure "daddy" and ran to him.

He bent down and scooped her up and kissed her tummy sending her in a fit of giggles. Rebekah saw them together and just kept on looking at them with that smile on her face and then looked around as Hayley came in.

She said "hey Rebekah. Did she give you a bad night?"

Rebekah said "no. No. She slept all night and woke up just a few minutes ago. She is playing with her toys right now."

She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee while Klaus said "can you babysit Hope today? Hayley and I are going out for dinner today."

Rebekah said "sure."

Klaus said "Hope did you wish happy birthday to mommy. It is her birthday today."

Rebekah turned to Hayley and said "hey happy birthday. This is great. Oh now I know what you guys are planning for tonight. Eww."

She sipped her coffee making Klaus laugh and Hayley blush and Hope say "happy birthday mommy."

Hayley kissed Hope and said "thanks my love. What do you need today?"

Rebekah said "what do you mean? isn't it your birthday?"

Klaus said "it is Hayley's tradition to give Hope something on her birthday."

Rebekah said "hey why don't I keep Hope tonight at Elijah's and you guys can have the apartment to yourself."

Before Hayley could respond Klaus said "that will be great. Thanks sister."

Next morning Rebekah looked at Hope who was sitting in Elijah's lap reading a book. She wondered 'what was it about this child that was making her heart soft towards her and her mom?'

She startled when the front door opened and Hayley and Klaus entered.

Hope got off Elijah's lap and ran to them and said "mommy."

She hugged Hope and asked "did you have fun with aunt Rebekah and uncle Elijah."

Hope said excitedly "I did. I did. Aunt Rebekah bought me a doll. Look" She showed her the doll.

Hayley said "this is really nice".

She looked up at Rebekah and noticed her gaze go on her wrist. She said "it is nothing. we were just …" but blushed.

Rebekah couldn't help but smile as Hayley started to blush and said "I meant…"

Rebekah said "We all know what you meant sweetheart. Any way I am glad you are fine."

She turned and was leaving when Klaus said "lets go and have lunch. Rebekah come."

During lunch his cell rang. He picked up the cell and after listing to the other side for a moment he said "hey how are you? Long time no talk."

Rebekah looked at Hayley and noticed her looking annoyed. She wondered 'who it could be?' but the question was answered as he said "oh that is great Caroline. That is what you wanted right?"

He listened to her again as he gave Hope the glass of water she was trying to reach to and then said "oh that is great. Congratulations. Listen I am out on lunch. will talk again."

After putting he cell down he said "Caroline. She got into Juliet, dance program. Just wanted to let me know."

Hayley didnt know what to say so she kept quiet and looked up and saw Rebekah looking at her with narrowed eyes and Elijah looking at Klaus.

Klaus cleared his throat and said "so what have you been up to since you came Rebekah?"

Hayley smiled even though there was a sinking feeling in her stomach when Rebekah said "besides being a babysitter you know?"

She looked at Hayley and said "I am just kidding incase you are wondering. I love babysitting Hope and bonding with you."

Hayley nodded and said "ditto."

He could feel something was not right and it happened right after he told her about Caroline's phone. He looked at her but she was talking to Rebekah.

She could feel his eyes on her but refused to look at him.

After lunch Rebekah and Elijah went to his house whereas they went to their. He wanted to ask her what is wrong but she looked too aloof so he let it go.

She was quieter the rest of the day. He knew why she was quiet and didnt know what to say or do to make her understand that there was nothing going on between Caroline and him but he but deep down he knew that there is no cure for doubt so he didnt say anything regarding the call and tried to act normal, talk to her, helped her around the house and was pleasantly surprised that she responded in the same way.

While he was trying to make situation as normal as possible and ignoring the obvious, Hayley's mind was confusing her more and more about Caroline and him and making her wonder '_why does Caroline keep on calling him? If she were in Caroline's place and her fiancé had broken up with her then she wouldn't have called him back like ever. Does Caroline still think that she can win him over? Will she win him over? Winning someone's heart is not that difficult. Isn't that what Klaus had said to her a few days ago. But that day during the training didn't he assure her that he only loves her. If that is the case then why does he not talk to her about her fears. But till when Hayley. Till when you expect him to give you assurance that nothing is going on between him and Caroline. How can he prove to you? he is an excellent father, a great husband who has been with you in your tough time and you are still doubting him. Stop doubting him. Trust him for once.'_

By the time they turned themselves in she was feel much better in terms of her emotions and feelings and when his arms went around her and he brought her close to him all fears flew out of window. She put her hand on his hand, brought them to her lips and kissed him. She felt his kiss on her head and closed her eyes. Soon they both had fallen asleep.

Next morning when he entered his stations he smiled when he saw Alexis and asked "hey you are back? How was the honeymoon?"

Alexis said smiling ear to ear "great. Alex was wonderful. Where did you guys go?"

Klaus looked at her and said "when did you get back?"

Alexis looked at him for a moment taking the hint that he does not want to talk about it and said "last night. Alex had a couple of cases."

Klaus said "good."

Klaus nodded and sat on his desk and picked up a cold case file.

Alexis asked "what are you doing?"

Klaus said "Ben wanted me to look at this rape cases before their statue expires. I found this one case where statue will expire next month."

Alexis asked "what is it about?"

Klaus said "this girl, she accused her boyfriend for raping her but there was no proof so they didn't prosecute it."

Alexis said "oh okay. let me have a look too."

He gave her the file and said "I have gone through it. You can look at it and see if you can find anything."

Half an hour later she said "do you want to go and talk to her?"

Klaus said "lets go."

An hour later they were greeted by a woman whom they recognized by the picture in her file as Alissa Gibson. He told her "Ms Gibson we are here to look into the charges you filed about you rape 4 years ago. I know it is a bit late but we would like to see them before the statue expires."

She looked around and asked them to come in. As they sat down a child about the age of 3 or 4 ran in the room and said "mommy I want some juice."

She said to them "I will be back."

She was back in a minute and said after settling down "you see that boy. He is the reminder of that rape every day of my life. I cannot forget about it. I am unable to put it behind me. I hate him but I love him too. I don't think I will ever be able to love him properly."

Klaus felt as if all air got sucked out of him. Alexis looked at him and saw that he suddenly looked sick. Klaus asked "can I used your restroom?"

He got up and went to that direction and stood leaning against the wall loosening his tie, trying to calm himself at the irony of the situation. After a few minutes he came out and went back to the living room. Alissa was telling Alexis about her rape. He sat there and listened to her and after many many days he relived that horrible memory of that bathroom stall when he noticed hat boy peek in again. He walked to Alissa and tried to hug him but she gently pushed him away saying "Sam I am talking to these nice people. Why dont you go and play?"

When he disbarred she said "see what I mean. Sometimes I cannot hug him. I think I can feel better if he is captured."

Klasu got up saying "we will do our best to catch him Ms Gibson."

Drive to the station Klaus was very quiet. She asked him "what is wrong?"

Klaus siad "her story is so tragic."

Alexis siad "yes and she is right. She has the reminder of that rape."

After reaching the station they started going through what she has told and started the investigation.

He stopped the car outside Elijah's house and got out. As he entered the house he heard the voices coming from the living room so he went there. Hope ran to him squealing like usual and as always melted his heart but his eyes were fixed on Hayley who was watching them with the smiling face. He took her to the sofa and sat down with her in his lap and said "are you ready to go home?"

Rebekah said "no wait, Elijah called. He is bringing takeout. Lets eat together."

Hayley noticed he looked tired and wondered what happened but didnt ask.

Klaus nodded and picked up a book from the table after taking after his shoes. He laid on the sofa as Hope slip from his lap and went back to Rebekah.

Rebekah pulled Hope in her lap and said to Hayley "why dont you lie down on that damn sofa? Move away Nik. She has been throwing up all day. I am sure that pathetic piece of bread that you ate this morning is out of your system by now. By the way have you taken your medicine."

Klaus turned to her and asked "you have not been feeling well today?"

Hayley shook her head and went to lie on the sofa on which Klaus was lying down. He made spot for her and scooted to one side. As she laid down feeling totally drained she said"yes I have taken the medicine Rebekah."

Rebekah rolled her eyes, turned to Hope and asked "so what were we talking about before your daddy decided to break our fun time." As Hope giggle, Klaus looked at them and smiled but then returned his attention to the book and heard her ask "you never told me when is your birthday sweetie?"

Hope said "mommy?!"

Hayley looked at Klaus and then said "25th June."

Rebekah's gaze went to Klaus and caught him looking at Hayley. She controlled the word slipping out of her mouth and said "oh that is just a few days after I leave. How about we celebrate before we go. what do you normally do Hayley?"

Hayley said "we just go out and have dinner at wherever she wants to."

Rebekah said "okay we can do that and then do a cake cutting thing at home. Hope what do you want on you cake?"

Hope said instantly "Elsa."

Rebekah laughed and said "of course. She is my favorite too. Okay good. So we are having your birthday before I leave. Then you can have another birthday on the actual birthday day."

Hayley looked at Rebekah talking to Hope and stretched her feet. As she stretched them they touch his thigh and he put his hand on them. She tried to move them but his hand were preventing her from doing that. She smiled as she noticed him put one leg over another and realized that he had just hidden the view from Rebekah.

While she was lost in her thought Klaus was lost in his. He was listening to Rebekah, Hope and Hayley chatting happily wondering if Hayley had hated Hope like Alissa hates Sam then would Hope have turned out to be this happy person. Granted that she was going through emotionally tough time right now but that was because of Hayley's illness. Otherwise he could see that Hope was happy child. He felt guilty again for the burden he had given her to which she had taken so bravely.

That night he held her close, kissed her and whispered in her ear "thanks for not hating Hope Hayley."

Hayley looked into his eyes and saw hint of guilt that used to be there at the beginning of their marriage . She asked him "Klaus what happened?"

He sighed and told her about that case. When he was done telling her she said "oh God poor child and his mother. Do you want me to talk to her?"

Klaus said "no. But I will get her help. Hayley I am so grateful for what you have done for Hope and forgiving me."

Hayley said "Klaus stop. We have been through this before. I love both of you. I loved her the moment I held her and will never forget that feeling."

He sighed and brought her closer to him. He then said "Hayley while you were in the hospital Rebekah and I talked Hope's psychologist and she think that we should tell Hope about your illness. She said not to go into too much detail but she needs to know some and I kind of agree with that. I think we should tell her this weekend when we are all calmed and she does not have school. She will be with us all weekend so there is that too."

Hayley said " I dont want to tell her but I know you are right. We should tell her."

He held her close as they both drifted off to sleep.

Around lunch time next day, Elijah knocked at the door controlling his heartbeat. A moment later Hayley opened the door and smiled at him making him go weak in knees. He said "I am here to pick up Rebekah. We were supposed to go for lunch."

Hayley said "she took Hope to the movies. They will be back in ten, fifteen minutes. You can come in and wait for her."

Elijah cursed the situation and walked in.

He said "you look good. Doesn't even look that you are going through such a hard treatment" and then blushed.

Hayley looked at Elijah and said "why Elijah?! that is so sweet."

Elijah looked at the smile on her face and his heart started racing. He abruptly said "I think I should be leaving. Tell Rebekah to meet me at the restaurant."

Hayley looked at him feeling bewildered by the way he was acting and asked "what is it Elijah? You have been acting really weird these past few weeks."

Elijah said walking towards the front door "nothing Hayley. Just work and all."

She said "oh really?! I have seen you swarmed in work but you never looked this tense."

Elijah stopped and looked at her and opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

Hayley felt the smile slip from her face as she recognized those expression as seen on someone's else face for her and then realization dawned on her and she shook her head in shock.

Elijah saw realization dawn on her and felt a pit in his stomach. He said hastily "Hayley!"

She said coldly "no Elijah. Stop. How can you?"

Elijah said "Hayley listen…" but she cut him off by saying "I cannot believe it. How can you feel that way about me. I am your brother's wife." as she took a step back. And then as if a light bulb switched on in her head and asked "is that the reason you have been acting differently for a while now?"

when Elijah didn't say anything she said coldly "Elijah please leave."

After he left she sat on the bed wondering 'what just happened and why? Has she ever encouraged him? How could she miss the signs'. Now that she looked back she could see his interests in her but she said to herself that was him being friendly towards her. She startled as she heard the front door open and heard Hope's chipper voice "aunt Bekah, what does … mean?"

Rebekah said "…."

Hayley wiped the tears from her eyes and got up and left her room. She smiled at Hope and Rebekah and said "how was it?"

Rebekah smiled and said "it was great. We had so much fun. We ate popcorns too."

Hayley said "oh how wonderful."

Rebekah said "okay I have to go somewhere. Are you feeling better?"

Hayley said "yes."

Rebekah asked "did Elijah come? I am late."

Hayley suddenly felt very self conscious and said "yes he was here" as she took off Hope's shoes.

Rebekah said "o no. I will go then. we were supposed to have dinner together. When is Nik coming back?"

Hayley said still feeling very conscious "at night."

Later that night when Klaus came and sneaked into the bed she wrapped her arm around him tightly. Klaus brought his arm around her and brought her closer to him but then felt something was wrong as her hold tighten around him. He asked "Hayley what is wrong?"

he tried to separate her from him but she didnt. And then he realized that she was crying. He asked "Hayley, what is it? Did something happen?" He turned the bedside lamp on and looked at her face which was stained with tears.

He scooted in the sitting position but Hayley shook her head and said "I am just having one of those days. I am so glad you are home. I was feeling really depressed today."

He kissed her and said "you will be okay. I am here now."

He snuggled her close to him and switch off the lamp and tried to sleep but he had a feeling that Hayley had just lied to him. He fell asleep wondering _'why did she lie to him?'_

Next night while putting Hope to bed Klaus looked at Hayley and said "Hope love, mommy and I want to talk to you about something."

Hope asked while fixing her doll's hair "what daddy?"

Klaus took the doll from her hand and pulled her in his lap and said "you know when you ask is mommy sick." He waited for her to acknowledge her question.

When she nodded, Klaus continued looking at Hayley "Well mommy is sick , but she will get better. you and I will take care of her, right?"

Hope looked at Hayley and asked "what is wrong with her?"

Klaus smiled but his heart skipped a beat as he felt her push her body against him away from Hayley and then said as they had practiced "well you know our bodies are made up of lots of different parts. Sometimes something has gone wrong with one of these parts and it's stopped doing what it's supposed to do. Part of the body is no longer normal. Over time, a tumor or lump, hmm like when you get hurt your skin gets scars." Hope nodded so he continued "tumor is something like that but this one is inside the body, inside you skin." He touched her skin making her giggle. He then continued "so the doctors need to remove that tumor because it should not there. It can make the rest of body parts sick too. That is what mommy has. Mommy has and She is getting treatment for that. and she will get better in no time."

When Hope continued to stay quiet and just stare at Hayley, she asked "Hope honey, do you have any questions?"

Hope said "what is treatment?"

Hayley said "treatment means cure, giving medicines to fix something. Like when you get sick with flu mommy gives you medicine right?"

When she nodded Hayley continued "that is treatment."

She then asked snuggling closer to Klaus "will you die?"

They were prepared for any question that she threw at them, but no this one. Hayley looked at Klaus who was looking as stunned as she was. She immediately said "no baby. Who said that?"

Hope said "a boy in my class said his grandmother was sick and she died a few days ago."

Hayley reached out and grabbed Hope pulling her into her arms, hugged her tight and said "oh baby I am so sad for your friend but people don't die with every sickness. Some sickness are bad and they do kill people but mommy will be okay because mommy has to take care of this beautiful princess in mommy's lap."

She smiled and tickled her and relaxed as Hope started giggling. She looked up and caught Klaus looking at her with strange expression.

She said to him trying to control the tears threatening to leak "I want to be alone with her for a few minutes."

Klaus nodded and left.

She noticed that Hope was holding her very tight. Her heart ached for her. She laid down with her on her bed and held her until she felt her arms around her relax and she knew that Hope had gone to sleep.

Klaus was lying on his bed trying to think anything but Hope's "will you die?' kept on coming in his mind and he could feel his heart sinking. After a while he looked at the clock and realized it was 11 so he got up to check what Hayley was doing. As he entered Hope's room, he stopped as he saw her sleeping on her bed.

He smiled, switched off the light and left.

Next morning when he woke up he felt a hand on his chest. He knew that hand with eyes closed. He turned towards her and saw that she was still sleeping.

They spend the weekend with Elijah and Rebekah. Both of them were happy to see Hope happy, running around and playing. It seemed that last night conversation never happened which was kind of relief to Hayley and Klaus.

Hayley noticed that Elijah was avoiding her which she understood so she respected it which was starting to make her feel really bad considering that she was part of his family and they couldn't keep on like that all their life. She had decided not to tell Klaus about what had happened between her and Elijah but she had overheard Rebekah saying to Elijah "admit it, you have fallen for her" and she knew that they were talking about her when she heard Rebekah again "Elijah she is you sister in law. Have you lost your mind?" That had just made her heart sink further as it hit her that secret was not so much of a secret anymore. Rebekah knew, what if Klaus finds out in future.

A few days later Elijah and Rebekah left for Mystic Falls and she took a sigh of relief.

She and Klaus had settled down in their lives. They both knew that they loved each other and that was enough for Hayley even though sometimes she questioned his reasons for loving him considering her declining health condition, circles under her eyes and thinning hair but then all doubts would fly out of her mind the way he would make love to her and cuddle her afterwards, grab her from her waist and kiss on her neck while she is lost in her thoughts, the way he plays with Hope, the way he talks to her, the way he holds her at night even when they are just lying in their beds.

Before she knew it a month went by. Rebekah often called her and they talked for long time surprising Hayley that she had opened up to Rebekah so much and strangely more so after her going back to Mystic Falls. Elijah occasionally called but only talked to Klaus. She noticed that whenever she picked up his call he would just do the greeting thing and then he was immediately ask for Klaus and that was just starting to make her feel very uncomfortable.

During this time Klaus often called Tyler to find out how he was coping and was pleasantly surprised to realize that he was doing great. On the other hand she bonded with Alexis so much so that on her requests Hayley had started to leave Hope at her place to babysit while he and Klaus had some personal time. They even talked about what it meant for Klaus to be a werewolf but Hayley was confident that she will keep Klaus's secret. In their free time they did some research on Deveraux family but couldnt find anything about Brynne Deveraux or anything else except that Sophie has a sister Jane-Ann Deveraux and she had a niece, Monique who died a few months back in some sort of witch witch ritual. One day she was cooking dinner when she got a call from Alexis who said as soon as she picked up the cell "Hayley, guess what? I am pregnant. I wanted to share with you. I am so happy."

Hayley felt a pit in her stomach for some reason but she said "oh wow that is just so great and quick might I add" making her laugh.

Alexis said "yes Alex and I so wanted to have kids and here we are. Any way you tell. How are you feeling?"

Hayley said "I am great. My radiotherapy is going to start in a few weeks. Before that we will be going to Mystic Falls. It has been a few months Klaus has visited his family."

Alexis said "yes Klaus told me that. Have fun and listen got to go. Alex is home."

After putting the cell down she continued to make dinner feeling very depressed for some reason and then she put her hand on her stomach and realized that she wanted to have another child but she couldn't right now and that is why she was depressed. She startled when she heard Hope ask "mommy where is daddy? I am hungry."

Hayley turned to her and smiled. She said "he will be on his way. We are going to Mystic Falls in a few days. Do you want to see Amy?"

Hope said excitedly "yes."

Hayley smiled and said "go get your coloring book and lets do some coloring until daddy comes."

When Klaus entered the apartment he saw her and Hope doing coloring. He said "I will be back after changing."

After he went Hayley told Hope to clean up for dinner while she set the table.

later that night Klaus asked her "what is it?"

Hayley smiled and asked "why do you ask?"

Klaus said "it is written all over your face."

Hayley said "Alexis called."

Klaus picked up the pillow and asked "and?"

Hayley said "she is pregnant."

Klaus said halting in the process "what?! that is just wonderful!"

He noticed her expressions and asked "you are not happy?"

Hayley said "no, it is not that" and went to the bathroom.

Klaus looked at her and wondered what has happened to her when the bathroom door opened and she came out.

As she laid in the bed he asked "now tell me what has happened?"

She said hesitatingly "when she told me I just felt like having… " she stopped talking and Klaus understood. He held her hand and said "Hayley we will have another baby but you need to get better. You know we cannot have a baby right now."

she nodded and said "yes I know but I just felt so depressed. Forget about it. It was nothing" she smiled.

Klaus pulled her close to him and said in her hair "it is not nothing. It is very important and I am glad that you feel that way because that means that you want to have a baby with me which is what I want to."

She smiled sadly put her hand on his chest and went to sleep in his arms soon joined by Klaus.

Next morning before leaving for the work he reminded her of the full moon. At work he talked to Alexis about keeping Hope for the night because Hayley wanted to go meet her pack whereas Klaus would have been a wolf.

Klaus looked at his wrist watch and saw that it was around 6 in the morning Klaus thought about it for a moment and then started the car and drove towards the bayou. He got out of the car wondering if she was still there or gone home. He was walking towards the sound of voice with a racing heart for some reason when he stopped as he saw her laughing with a group of young men and women gathered around a fire.

Hayley laughed at what Jackson said and looked up. The smile slipped from her face as she saw him standing there and suddenly she realized that she was siting too close to Jackson and remembered Klaus's jealousy toward him. She hastily got up making Jackson look at her questioningly.

Klaus took a deep breath to calm his anger that had come out of nowhere. He started walking towards her and said "I thought you would have gone home."

Hayley said "I was just about to leave" feeling conscious for some reason as she sensed the anger underlying the controlled demeanor.

Klaus looked past her and said "I assume that is Jackson."

Hayley said "Klaus…" but Klaus cut her off by saying "arent you going to introduce me to your pack?"

Hayley nodded and tried to hold his hand but felt a punch to her stomach when he pried it free immediately. With the sinking heart she took him to the pack and introduced him to everyone. Klaus talked with Jackson, Oliver and Eve for a while and then he looked at Hayley who was being very quiet the whole time and nodded her and they took their leave.

During the drive to home Hayley tried to talk to talk to him a couple of times but he was unapproachable. They went to sleep without talking about it.

A few hours later when he woke up he said "I am going to get Hope."

Hayley said "no wait."

She said "we need to talk about it. I know it is bothering you. You should know that nothing is happening between Jackson and me."

Klaus looked at her and said coldly "and you should know that I will not like it if something happens between you two."

Hayley said "you know I will never cheat on you. Right?"

Klaus looked into her eyes and then said "it has been a while since I felt this way."

Hayley asked confused "what way?"

Klaus said "so jealous that I wanted to kill him and you know as a werewolf how difficult it is for me to control the temper."

Hayley smiled and said "well that is good then. I am glad you felt jealous about something."

Klaus pulled her towards him and caressed her cheek and started taking off her clothes.


	22. Chapter 22 Life goes on part 2

**_A/N: thanks you for so nice comments :). I felt very overwhelmed by so many of you wanting me to continue this story. So here is the new chapter. I hope you like it. Three day weekend in Mystic Fall coming up. Well part of it LOL. Hope you enjoy it. _**

**_Synopsis: Klaus and Hayley visit Mystic Falls. Klaus finds out about Hayley's past. Hayley meets Stefan and Elena. Klaus has to face someone who changes his life for ever._**

* * *

><p>When Klaus entered the apartment he heard her say "yes, we are coming over tomorrow for three days. It will be good to see you."<p>

He walked to her and asked her who was she talking to. Hayley smiled and said "Rebekah, Klaus is here. Do you want to talk to her?"

Klaus looked at her curiously when she laughed and said to him "she does not want to talk to you Klaus."

Klaus said "okay then. I am going to change then."

Later that night when she was packing their bags for Mystic Falls she told him "I bought a wig today to make an impression on your family. I don't know why because I know they hate me and will continue to do so."

Klaus said giving her his shirts for the trip "First of all they dont hate you. They will love you Hayley. Secondly you know it does not bother me and we will have to tell my family about your cancer Hayley. But if you want to wear it sure why not."

Hayley said while walking to the closet "I know we have to tell them but I feel too conscious about my hair."

Klaus put his pants in the bag and said "whatever you want to do. It does not bother me at all."

She nodded and continued packing for the short trip of three days to Mystic Falls anticipating the visit. She scolded herself for feeling anxious about meeting his family as she told herself _'they will never like you so why be anxious?!'_ As she put Hope's clothes in the bag she groaned as she realized that she has to talk to Elijah about what was happening between them. She looked at Klaus who was reading a book but she could see that he was not paying attention to the book. She wondered if he is as anxious as she is?! She got under the covers with him and went to sleep in his arms.

Next morning they had a flight to catch at 10 to Mystic Falls. A few hours later he was putting their bags in the trunk of his car and taking them to his penthouse.

Hayley entered the penthouse and stared at the lavish decor and said "oh wow. This is nice. A bit sparse but not bad."

Klaus said casually "because I broke all the things."

Hayley asked putting her purse on the sofa "why? when?"

Klaus said "they day I found out about you, that you were the one, in that parking garage."

Hayley looked towards him and said "I was so hoping you didn't know about that mark."

Klaus said "I didnt initially but then gradually it started to come to me as I started to remember what happened."

Hayley said "hmm. So for how long you have had this apartment for?"

Klaus said "I have had this _penthouse_ for about three years now."

Hayley smiled and said "this is really nice" as she walked around the penthouse.

She said to Hope "Hope don't jump on the bed."

Klaus laughed and said to Hope "it is okay love, You can do whatever you want to do" as he pulled Hayley towards him.

Hayley asked "what is it?"

Klaus said "I wanted to talk to you about what we are going to tell my family tonight."

Hayley sighed and said "Klaus we cannot tell anyone about Hope and your relationship."

Klaus said with a sinking heart "but Hayley we decided that we can tell them that story."

Hayley walked to him and said "yes we did but I remembered something a few days ago which made me realize that we cannot tell anyone."

Klaus asked her "what?"

Hayley said after slight hesitation "Tyler and Amy know about my rape."

Klaus looked at her remembering the time when he had suspected Tyler of knowing about her rape but he asked "I had an idea about Amy but Tyler! How?"

Hayley said "he was my friend so…" she paused thinking of words to use to and then continued "any way I never told them about Hope's being a result of that incidence. If we tell them this story now then they might suspect something and I dont want that to happen."

Klaus asked "_was your friend?!_"

Hayley asked in confusion "what?"

Klaus said "you said he was your friend. Are you guys not friends any more? I know your parents were friends and by implication you both knew each other."

Hayley said softly "we fell apart."

Getting more and more suspicious that she was hiding something from him, Klaus said intentionally "hmm. But he still cares about you. He almost picked up a fight with me when I didnt approve your loan."

Hayley looked at him in confusion and then said "Oh I didnt know. I am going to see if Hope …" but Klaus grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him gently and asked "what is it? why dont you want to talk about him? I noticed you were cold to him during your interactions but he was always friendly towards you. Does he have a crush on you?"

Hayley laughed and said "yes" not realizing that her voice was shaking now but Klaus detective instincts were telling him that something was up. He looked into her eyes and asked "Hayley are you hiding something from me? How does he know about the rape? And more importantly why has he not told anyone?"

Hayley said steering her eyes from his "because I told him to".

He said "Hayley!"

Hayley suddenly lost her composure and temper. She pushed him away form her and said in a loud voice "why are you pushing me Klaus? I told you that he knows. Why are you pressurizing me?"

Klaus stared at her broken face and his heart sank. He stepped towards her and said again "Hayley!"

Hayley said desperately "Klaus please dont.. Stop…"

While he continued to stare at her a thought crossed his mind but he shook his head and said "Hayley tell me he never laid a hand on you."

He felt like holding her but he kept his hand on his side and the pit in his stomach got bigger as he saw tears gleaming in her eyes.

She tried to say "no" but nothing came out and she stepped back.

Klaus eyes widened in shock as he said "Tyler…"

She found her voice, cut him off by saying "no…"

Klaus said "Hayley I am a detective." He paused for a second and then added harshly "When?"

When Hayley didn't say anything he stepped closer to her, held her arm and shouted "answer me."

Hayley said softly "after you left that stall, he came in. I was crying so he comforted me. Suddenly something happened and he tried to… " she felt his hand let go of her arm and look of horror on his face.

She added hastily "but he stopped. He stopped Klaus. I begged him to stop and he stopped. He never raped me but he felt so guilty afterwards that he tried to do all he could to help me out. He even got me that job when I needed it most Klaus. He always tired to be there for me but I never let him be in my life again. I just wanted one thing from him and that was he never tells my secret about the cancer and rape to anyone and that he kept."

Klaus felt his heart would explode with the anguish he was feeling at that time. He saw her stepping towards him but he stepped back and said in anguish "God Hayley! You had to go so through while I was busy enjoying my life."

He saw a sad smile appear on her lips that didnt reach her eyes and that just made his feeling of guilt just double.

She said with a smile "I was so depressed for the next few days and I didnt tell anyone about it. By the time I went to report the rape few days had passed and no one believed me. My parents decided to tell everyone that I was a trouble maker which was a fact. _I was a trouble maker. _Tyler tried to reach out to me but I didnt want to see him. My parents didnt believe me, I had lost my friends, myself after that incidence so one day a month after that incidence I was so depressed that I decided to jump off the bridge when a man saved me. His name was Henry Wilkinson. He took me to his home. Turned out he was a detective. He had a daughter name Amy and that is how I met Amy. He wanted me to go back to my house but I told him that I didnt want to and if he will force me I will run away from there too. So he let me stay. I lived with Henry and then I found out I was pregnant."

She looked at Hope as she came running into the room and said "mommy I want my coloring book."

Hayley walked to the carry-on still unpacked, opened it and gave her the coloring book and the pencils and said "go and do it in the other room."

After Hope left, she looked at Klaus who was still in the state of shock. She sighed and continued as she walked toward the window "I was way advance in my pregnancy. Somehow I missed all the signs so by the time I found out it was already three months and I couldnt do anything about it. Henry and Amy were the first one whom I told about my pregnancy. I dont know why but I told them that I was already pregnant when I was raped and that is why my parents never believed me about the rape. He wouldn't let me leave and helped me with my pregnancy and all. I went to the station one more time a year after my rape when I was going through postpartum depression after having Hope but they send me home saying that case cannot be proved with no evidence. After the policed turned me down the second time I decided to make my own life and accept the fact that I have to live with it and my daughter will not be target of my hate towards you and for that I had to stop hating you and I made an effort to not think about you and that incidence and succeeded most of the time. I told everyone that Hope was a result of one night stand which was not hard to believe if they didnt know the rape incidence."

She realized that she was feeling relieved as she was telling him everything;sharing everything that has kept a lid on until now with him. She turned towards him but he was already behind her. He held her hand and asked "Hayley please dont lie to me. Tell me when I raped you, were you a virgin?"

Hayley smiled and said "no. I was not."

He asked "are you lying to me to make me feel better?"

Hayley said "no. I am not. I will never do that" when she smiled at the end of the sentence he kissed her hands and said "Hayley I am so sorry for everything I have done. I dont think I can ever make up for what I did to you. I had thought that by marrying you I will be able to provide the stability to Hope and you but listing to all of this I cannot even come close to it."

Hayley said smiling "don't say that. You are doing it. You are making a difference to our lives every day."

He looked into her eyes and saw nothing but sincerity but he that didnt satisfy him so he stepped back and said "Hayley I dont deserve you guys in my life."

Hayley grabbed his hand and said fiercely "this is the last time you are saying that. Do you understand? After everything I have been though in my life you dont get to walk out of it when things are getting better for me and tough for you. I am on the brink of my radiotherapy and now you want to get out of it. I need you to be there for Hope during this time. I need you to be there to stand for us in front of your family. I need you to be there if something happens to me and Hope is all alone." her voice broke at the end of the sentence.

Klaus looked at the tears rolling down her cheek and brought her closer to him embraced her and said "I am sorry Hayley. I wish I could turn the clock back and … I dont know what to say to make you feel better or for that matter make myself better."

Hayley said wiping her tears with her right hand while her left went around him "just be there for me like you have been for the past three months and Klaus…"

When he said "hmmm" she continued "you will keep the secret about Tyler and me just like you will keep the secret about your and me. That is what I want from you to make me feel better."

She felt his grip tighten around her but then she felt him nod.

He said after a few moments of silence "Hayley Elijah knows about Hope."

Hayley said "but he wouldn't tell anyone. If there is anything Mikael was proud of was his family name and that is the reason he never told anyone not even to you. Tell Elijah that was your father's last wish and you want to fulfill it and I know Tyler or Amy will not tell anyone about my rape."

Klaus kissed her on her head and said "what will we tell her when she asks when she grows up and finds out?"

Hayley said "we will cross that bridge when the time comes."

At 8 pm he knocked at his mother's house front door and while waiting for it to open he held her and said "you look great" as she ran her hand through her hair.

She said anxiously "I feel so strange in this stupid wig"

He kissed her hand and said "you look great Hayley."

Before she could reply the door opened and Elijah revealed himself to Hayley's surprise.

Their eyes met for a fraction of second and then Klaus said "hey Elijah. How are you?"

Elijah said "I am great. Come in."

He hesitated for a second that said to Hayley "Hayley, how are you?"

Hayley gulped and said "I am fine Elijah. How are you?"

Klaus looked at Elijah and noticed him a bit distressed. He asked "everything okay Elijah?"

Elijah said recovering quickly "oh yes. Actually I told mother that you are coming and she is not happy. Rebekah is still not back. She went out with Caroline for shopping. I am the only one holding the fort."

He paused for a second and then said "everything will be okay. Hey Hope you are you?" he looked at Hope war the end of the sentence.

Hope smiled at him and snuggled to Klaus's legs in shyness.

He then added "lets go in. Mother and Kol are in the living room."

Hayley looked at him and then at Klaus. He nodded and followed them in the living room. As they entered, Hayley saw a young man who stood up immediately whereas the middle age woman slowly turned around at the man's reaction. As soon as she saw her she shouted "what is she doing here Niklaus? I told you that I will not accept her."

Hayley looked at Klaus in confusion wondering_ 'when did that conversation happened'_ but Klaus didnt look at her and said calmly "mother can we sit and talk about it calmly."

He held Hayley's hand and led her inside. He turned to the door as he heard the sound of clicks of heals and a moment later Rebekah entered with to his displeasure Caroline.

Rebekah said excitedly "Nik, when did you come?" but then the smile faltered a bit as she saw Hayley but then she walked to her with determination and hugged her saying "hey Hayley how are you?"

Hayley looked at Caroline and then at Klaus but smiled.

As Rebekah bend to talk to Hope she heard Caroline say Caroline say "o wow Hayley, Nikky when did you come?"

She darted to them and then to Hayley's annoyance she engulfed him in her arms and said "Esther, you must be so happy to see you Nik and look at his adorable daughter. Isn't she adorable?" totally ignoring Hayley.

Hayley said with a smile "hello Caroline."

Caroline looked at her and then with a smile that clearly didnt reach her eyes she said "hello Hayley. About time you decided to meet his family."

Hayley looked at her with this dread in her stomach knowing well that she was up to something but she smiled and said "yes I wanted to meet Klaus's family."

Klaus said "_our family_ love."

He put Hope on the ground and said "Hope you remember Rebekah right?"

Rebekah looked up at his words and then towards her mother who was glaring at her and said angrily "so that is where you went for your holidays?"

Rebekah said "yes mother. I was with Nik, Hayley and Hope."

She felt Klaus's body relax as soon as the words were out.

She stood up when she heard Esther say "Rebekah how dare you?"

Rebekah said "hey Hope why don't you come to my room? I have a doll. Do you want to see it?"

Hope looked at Klaus who slightly nudged her in Rebekah's direction.

And then she looked at Hayley who nodded slightly. Hope walked with Rebekah.

Esther shouted "you brought that slut …" Hayley's eyes darted to Hope who had looked around at that word and said coldly "Mrs Lockwood please …"

At the same time Klaus said "mother …"

At the silence in the room he added coldly "there is a child in the room, please think before you speak. And as for her and father, I want to clear this that they were not involved. I have proof but I dont feel that you need to see that. If you cannot have Hayley in your life then I am leaving too."

He held her hand and said "when you are willing to talk calmly Rebekah or Elijah can call us. We will come. We are here till Monday afternoon. Lets go Hayley."

Hayley looked at Rebekah. For a moment her eyes met with Elijah's and then she walked to Hope and took her hand gently and walked out of the house with Klaus.

Klaus covered Hope with the blanket and walked to the front door, checked it if it was locked or not and then walked back to his bedroom. He paused for a second and then turned towards the bathroom. He paused and then knocked at it asking "Hayley you okay? You have been in there for a long time."

Hayley said "I will be out in a minute."

Klaus asked "are you feeling okay?"

She put her hand on her mouth to stop the nauseas and said "uhan" in a choked voice.

Klaus groaned at hearing the voice and then pushed the door open.

Hayley yelped as she saw him in the bathroom. She said with annoyance "Klaus I am taking a shower."

She grabbed the towel and quickly covered herself making Klaus laugh. He walked to her and said "very tempting!"

Hayley tried to smile but the tears started to come out again as she said "no I dont feel well" and then she put the hand on her mouth and pushed him aside and bend over the toilet.

He put his hand on her naked back and said "I am sorry. I know it was a terrible evening. I am sorry for putting you through this."

She wiped her mouth and said "it is not your fault."

As she started towards the shower again he brought her close to her and said "yes it is. Why dont you finish you shower because you in this towel is giving me feelings which considering your nausea I think I should control."

She laughed and put her hand on his chest and said "thank you" and stepped into the shower while he sat on the vanity saying "It will take them some time but they will come around it. You know my family is very proud of their family name. Right now mother thinks that you had an affair with father so she is angry but I am sure you will win her over from you nature. What?"

He asked as he saw her looking at him.

Hayley pointed toward the door still holding the towel "out Klaus."

He smiled mischievously "why? It is not as if I have not seen you naked before. Either I will sit here or I will come in and give you the pleasure of my company but I am not going out."

Hayley sighed and said "stay there then. I am too tired right now."

She took the towel off after some hesitation and saw a smile appear on his lips and then as she saw him lean against the mirror and said without looking at her "Any way what have you planned for tomorrow?"

Hayley smiled as she saw his face and said "going to see Amy. You?"

Klaus said "Elijah wants me to visit the office so going to go there."

He ran the fingers through his hair when he caught her reflection in the mirror and couldnt help but stare at her as she ran her fingers through her hair rinsing the shampoo out. She said with eyes closed "oh okay. When is Kol joining the office?"

She suddenly opened her eyes and caught him looking at her with passion in his eyes. She smiled, turned the shower head off, picked up the towel and wrapped her in it and stepped out. He turned to her, got off the vanity and walked to her. He cupped her face and kissed her and said "you looked beautiful. I wish I were in there with you."

Hayley put her hands on his chest and said "next time."

Klaus smiled and then before Hayley could say anything he had scooped her up and was walking out of the bathroom. She said "wait. I need to change. I need to put on something. Hope is in that room."

He sighed and put her down. As she started to put her shirt on he said "Let me help you. This is the least I can do."

She smiled as she felt his hand on her skin caressing it gently as they slid the shirt down on the body and he opened the towel making her fall on the ground. She hit him playfully saying "stop it. I am not in mind".

She snatched the pajama form his hand and started to put it on while he just stood there watching her with amused expression on his face.

Next morning when she woke up she saw Hope sitting on his stomach as he listened to her tell him a story. He looked at her and said "hey how are you feeling?"

Hayley said "much better. When did she get up?"

Klaus said "half an hour ago. It was a really hard to stop her from waking you up. Any way I have to go to meet Elijah. You going to meet Amy right?"

Hayley said "yes" while Hope jumped on his stomach excitedly saying "yes. Amy."

Klaus spend the morning with Elijah going over some of the cases and talking about how to get out of this mess. He called his mother but as soon as the call connected Esther said "Niklaus until you decide to divorce that girl I am not going to talk to you" and cut him off.

He looked at Elijah helplessly but Elijah said "give her some time. Maybe you guys can come over for breakfast tomorrow morning."

Klaus said "yes that is a great idea. Okay good. Now I wanted to talk to you about something."

Elijah said "what?"

Klaus took a sigh and said "we dont want to tell anyone about Hope. The reason being father knew about her and he wanted to keep it a secret for the family name. It was his last wish before he died. He told me all of this in a letter he left for me which Ben gave me after his death. That is how I found out Hope was my daughter. Hayley and I want to keep his wishes. We will appreciate it if you respect our wishes too."

Elijah looked at him in shock, shook his head but before he could say anything Klaus said "Elijah this is our wish and you have to respect it. I know eventually we will have to tell everyone about it but not right now. I trust you will standby us."

Elijah looked at his determined face and then at last nodded.

Around 6:15 in the afternoon he decided to go home thinking Hayley and Hope must be home now but to his disappointment they were not home so he decided to take a shower. As he took off his shoes he got call from Caroline who said after initial chit chat "I want to talk to you. Can I come? Also wanted to find out how you are feeling after last night's disastrous family meeting?"

Klaus rolled his eyes as he took off his shirt and then remembered that he too wanted to talk to her that phone message she had left him. He said "sure. Drop by anytime after 7. I just came home after a long meeting and just want to unwind up a bit first."

Caroline said "oh I know what your unwinding means? Hot shower, a book, music in the background."

Klaus said smiling "you know me really well. Any way after 7 okay? Hayley will be home by then too."

After cutting her off he stepped into the shower thinking about how to approach her and tell her that he loves Hayley. Ten minutes later he stepped out, put on his pajamas and stepped out of the bathroom. He stopped as he saw Caroline standing there.

He said "Caroline, I told you to come after 7".

Caroline stepped towards him and hugged him giving him a casual kiss on his cheek, stepped back and said "I was out so decided to come early. Problem?"

She had a slight smile on her lips as she got out of the elevator thinking about the day she had spend with Amy pushing back meeting Tyler. Tyler had shown interesting in talking to her but she had not encouraged it so he left. As the elevator stopped she asked Hope "so did you have fun with Amy?"

Hope said excitedly "yes, can we go again?"

Hayley nodded as she opened the door to the penthouse and walked into the living room.

She said to Hope "now go and do some colouring on the dinning table. Mommy will be back in a minute and then I will fix something for dinner."

Hayley walked into the bedroom but stopped at the sight in front of her. Her heart sank as she saw Klaus just in his pajamas with wet hair as if he had come out of the shower and Caroline standing close to him. Their eyes met for a second before she felt her eyes getting blurry so she turned away from them.

Even from the distance he could see the shock followed by hurt on her face and that just made a drop in his stomach. He rushed to her and grabbed her from her shoulders and said "hey listen. Nothing happened. We were just…" but stopped talking as Hayley pried his hands off of her shoulder and continued to look at him with steely eyes.

He was about to say something when Caroline walked to her and said with a smile "hey Hayley. I just came in to drop an invitation to a party I am having tomorrow evening. It will be good after last night's disastrous family meeting. Bring Hope too. I have friends who can look after her."

Hayley looked at her with non smiling face and then at Klaus and noticed a pink lipstick marks near his jawline making the pit in her stomach bigger but she didnt say anything. Caroline laughed noticing the steely look on her face and said "O god Hayley you think _we were doing something?!_" making Klaus frown as well as narrow his eyes at her. But Caroline continued "I cannot believe it that you are jealous. There is nothing going on between me and Nikky" as she put her hand on his naked shoulder which Hayley felt like snatching away from her.

She then said "Okay Nikky, I will see you tomorrow. It is going to be great."

As she left the apartment he asked angrily "Hayley what is wrong with you? Why dont you trust me?

Hayley looked at him angrily and then dragged him to the bathroom mirror and said "that is why?"

Klaus looked at his reflection; just in pajamas with pink lipstick mark on his jawline as he saw her leaving the bathroom through the reflection. He cursed himself for being so inconsiderate.

He walked out to the bathroom and cursed himself second time when she heard Hope ask "mommy what is it? Why are you crying?"

He saw her wiping her tears and say "nothing sweetie. I just am not feeling well."

She button her shirt and said "lets go eat something and then it is sleeping time."

As she was walking by Klaus to the kitchen he tried to hold her arm but she pushed him away and continued to the kitchen.

Klaus ran fingers through his hair and followed them. He sat opposite Hope and ask her "so what did you do today?"

Hope said excitedly "we met Amy and Tyler. It was so much fun."

She could feel his eyes on her as she heard Tyler name but refused to look at him. He could see her back stiffening at Tyler's name but she didn't look back at him.

She quietly finished giving her the dinner and afterwards said "lets go sleep Hope."

He said "Hayley!" but she cut him off by saying "if you want to read to her, come."

She settled her down on the sofa attached to the bed and got up from there whereas Klaus took over. He kept on glancing at her while she walked around the room picking things up and finally going to change.

He said as she got in the bed "Hayley nothing was happening between me and Caroline. I was in the bathroom and she walked in. She has keys to my penthouse. I didnt know she was in the room when I walked out. You have to believe me."

Hayley looked at him and said "do you realize that she still loves you and she wants you back?"

Klaus said feeling annoyed now "and you think that is easy thing to do?!"

Hayley said "what is that what you said _'it is not difficult to win people heart'_?" and turned away form him.

He turned her towards him and said "no. First rule of our marriage. We will not go to sleep without resolving our dispute."

Hayley felt like shouting at him but she said in a very cold voice "I dont want to resolve it Klaus. I am tired of pretending that Caroline is not up to something. Her calling you all the time, calling me gloating about those calls, walking on you naked, leaving that declaration of love message, warning me that she will get you back."

Klaus stared at her in confusion and asked "what?!"

Hayley looked at his confused face and then realized that she had told him everything. She sighed and said "nothing" but he held her arm and asked "Hayley when did all of this happen?"

Hayley said with exasperation "Since the time I met her Klaus. She told me that she will get you back when she was staying at our place, then she called me once telling me about her talking to you. That is how I found out that you guys were talking to each other and you never told me. She told me about you kissing her. Why do you think she did it?! Klaus I cannot compete with her. I dont know what to say to you. I am just so _freaking tired and angry right now _that I cannot tell you."

He grabbed her hand and said "why didnt you tell me that she did all those things?"

Hayley pried her hand free and asked "would you have believed me?"

When he didnt answer immediately she said "that is why?"

He said stoping her from turning her away from him "listen you have to understand. We have a history…"

She cut him off by saying after uttering a short laughter "I know about that Klaus and I have given you benefit of doubt because of that history but I cannot fight anymore. I cannot give you any more benefits of doubt."

Klaus looked at her in stunned silence and said "what are you saying?"

Hayley said "nothing. I am just done with Caroline and you. If you want her, have her. I just need _you to be there for Hope and just for Hope_. I don't need your pity love. Give that to Caroline."

Klaus looked at her as if she had slapped him. He said "Hayley!"

but she said "no, I dont want to talk bout it anymore. I am fine. We talked and we resolved it but not the way you probably wanted. I am done" and turned away from him but not before he saw tears in her eyes.

She opened her bedside drawer and took out a clip and bra and said "and this is not mine either" handed them over to him and turned away again.

Klaus looked at them and then got out of the bed and left the room.

Hayley looked at him leaving the room with a heavy heart but didnt go after him. She went to sleep knowing well that he had not come back to the bed.

The next day Klaus got called to office by Elijah again. He tried to talk to her about what had happened with Caroline before leaving but she didn't encourage it so he left while Hayley did her breakfast quietly and then went to change to go out. While she was changing she noticed the bra and the clip in the trash and felt like crying but she gulped her tears and got out, dressed Hope and went out for a long walk. Later she took her to the park trying to keep her mind off of Caroline and Klaus, trying to reconcile her mind that she can tolerate Caroline in Klaus's life for Hope's sake now that she has realized that Caroline will always be in Klaus's life. While in the park she got a phone call from Rebekah. She smiled when Rebekah said "hey where are you? I want to meet you. I have been meaning to call you since yesterday but mother has been in a terrible mood and she was really upset. I want to see you and Hope."

Hayley said "I am at Anderson park at 32nd ave. I will be here for one more hour."

Rebekah said "I will be there right away."

True to her words Rebekah arrived in twenty minutes. They had a great time chatting with each other, her playing with Hope and giving her hope that everything will be okay and then she said "you know Kol is already curious about Hope. He was asking me about her today. I want you to meet him. May be at the party tonight."

Hayley looked at her and felt like telling her what had happened with Caroline and that she will not be coming to the party but decided not too and just smiled.

Rebekah left after a few minute after kissing Hope and promising to meet next day.

Around noon she came back home and put a very tired Hope to a nap and fell asleep too. When she woke up he was already home. He said "we have to leave at around 6."

Hayley looked at him in confusion and then remembered the party. She wondered _'if he thinks that she will still go to that party after what happened then he is crazy!'_ so she said "you dont really expect me to go to that party! Do you?"

Klaus said looking at her determined face "listen we have to go. She is my ex-finance. If we dont go now she would think that something is wrong and I dont want us to have an awkward relationship. "

Hayley said feeling annoyed now "Klaus _this is awkward_. She does not like me and it is not _we not going_. _I am not going_. You can go"

Klaus said "I will not go without you Hayley. Come on,I know you think that I am having an affair with her but I have already told you that I love you."

Hayley said "you told her that too Klaus and not a long time ago. She told you that she loves you last month _while_ we were married. You both were supposed to get married last month. How can you forget all of that?"

Klaus took a deep breath and said "Hayley you have an option. Either to run away from the challenge we are facing right now or face your problems. That is what I have leaned in my life. You have been so mature and brave about all of this till now so why not take one more step. Please do it for me."

At last she nodded.

She dressed up half heartedly that evening and was brushing her hair when a lock came out in her hand. She sighed, took out the wig from the drawer and looked at it for a while and then looked up at her reflection. She caught him looking at her in the reflection of the mirror. She looked away and put the wig back in the drawer.

Klaus said "I know you dont want to go Hayley so I want to say thanks to you" as she started to brush her hair gently and tying them in a pony at the nape of her neck.

Hayley fixed her hair to hide the thinning area on her head without saying anything.

He walked to her and said "do you not trust me anymore?"

Hayley sighed and said "give me a reason to trust you Klaus and I will."

Klaus said "I will Hayley. You should know that you can trust me. I am loyal to you and will always remain that. You look nice by the way."

She steered her eyes away from his which were speaking volume right now. She looked at Hope already dressed in a purple dress and asked "are you sure she can go to the party?"

Klaus sighed and said "yes, I have hired a part time nanny to take care of her during the party. She will keep an eye on her, keep her busy."

She nodded and looked towards her.

While driving to her house she said "Klaus, a request. I dont want Caroline to know that she has managed to create a wall between us so please act normal."

He looked at her but didnt say anything.

When they entered his aunt's house, he was stunned to see Stefan, Elena, Caroline and Damon there too. He held her hand as his eyes met Stefan's across the room.

Stefan looked at Elena and then at Klaus and said "Klaus is with his wife I think."

Elena turned towards Klaus and said "oh wow. So this party was in their honor."

She looked towards Caroline who said "now act natural. Elena his wife probably does not know about us so zip it" as she saw Caroline walking towards them.

Stefan asked angrily "you told her?!"

but before anyone could answer they approached them.

Klaus said to Hayley as they approached them "Hayley meet Stefan Salvatore, Elena Gilbert and you know Caroline."

Hayley smiled and said "hello." and shook their hands.

Klaus said "why don't you guys talk? I am going to see how Hope is doing."

He left before she could say anything and looked at Stefan who was asking her something.

During their chat she spotted Kol and Elijah. As she watched Kol looked around and said something to Elijah. She was wondering what has he said and then smiled as Elijah nodded and took him in one direction where Hayley could see Hope with Klaus. She looked at them anxiously and smiled as she saw Kol shake Hope's hand as she clung to Klaus's leg's shyly. As she watched Klaus looked up and caught her looking at them.

He saw the smile slip from her face even from that distance and his heart sank.

Elijah looked around and spotted a waiter serving drinks. He said "I will be back" and left whereas Kol knelt down near Hope and started chatting with her.

Hayley was lost in thought when Elena said "excuse me Hayley. We will be back" and left with Stefan. Hayley took a sigh of relief but then groaned as Caroline walked to her and said "hey I am so happy that you didn't mind what happened yesterday. You know I would never do something like that on purpose right?"

Hayley looked at her and said "yes I know. Klaus told me that it was an innocent thing. I trust _him_." She looked around wanting to get away from her and thanked her luck she spotted Elijah so she said "excuse me,"

Elijah was sipping his drink as he scanned the room and saw her walking towards him. He suddenly felt awkward by the smile on her face. She stopped right in front of him and said "Elijah, I wanted to talk to you."

Elijah said "no stop Hayley. Please don't say anything. I feel so bad already. I crossed a line and I shouldn't have. I assure you whatever I have for you is infatuation and I am not indulging in. I wish you had never found out but now that you do can you please forget about it."

Hayley looked at his guilty face and said "yes Elijah, I can. I dont want us to be awkward. I love Klaus with my whole heart. I love you but as a brother. I love Rebekah as a sister. I want us to be a family and we will never to be able to be that if it continue to be awkward between us."

He said "yes I promise they will not be."

He looked around and said "Niklaus is over there looking bored. You know he cannot dance. It will be good if _someone" _he looked at her pointedly and continued _"_makes him pay for what his family did to you."

She said indifferently "let him suffer" ad then blushed when he looked at her curiously.

She laughed and said "we had a small argument before leaving the house."

Elijah laughed and said "oh okay. Then let him suffer."

She looked at him and thought of asking him to dance but then decided against it thinking that he must still be feeling awkward so she said "I would have asked you to dance but I think it will not be appropriate under these circumstance."

Elijah smiled and said "yes but I promise that I will dance with you one day like I dance with Rebekah on our family dinners. Things will be better next time Hayley. I know this trip was not exactly what you were hoping for but give her some more time. And look Kol is already bonding with Hope."

She looked back at Kol and Hope who was now laughing at something that he had just said and said "I know and I will."

She looked around and saw Hope and Kol talking about something. Elijah said "why don't you go and talk to him too?"

Hayley shook her head and said "no, let them bond. Where is Rebekah by the way?"

Elijah said "oh mother was not feeling well so she decided to stay back."

While turning back to Elijah she spotted Klaus again and to her annoyance she saw Caroline talking to him. As she saw he shook her head and said something. Even from the distance she could see her face fell but then she walked away after giving him a smile and to her anger a kiss on his cheek. She thought for a moment and then said "On second thought. What better way to punish him then ask him to do something he does not like."

She left Elijah smiling as she headed towards Klaus.

The look on his face when she asked him "do you want to dance?" was just too precious.

He looked around and caught Elijah looking at them and realized that it was all for appearance sake so he nodded and walked with her on the dance floor.

As she was dancing in his arms she could feel his yes on her, his hand on her back and the way he was holding her, her mind was telling her to talk to him, trust him but there was too much that had happened in the past three months and she had lost the will to give any chances. She was lost in thought and missed a step and landed it on his foot. She finally looked at him and said "sorry."

He smiled shaking his head and said "you look stunning."

Hayley said feeling frustrated now "you are just trying to make me believe in you."

Klaus said "not at all. If I wanted to make you feel better I would have kissed you right now but I am not going to do that because I know that you are upset and you have a reason to be."

Hayley looked into his very sincere eyes and said "Klaus please don't…"

but he said taking her hand to his chest "please listen to me. Give me a chance to prove that I am sincere with you. I have no feelings for Caroline except that of an old friend."

Hayley opened her mouth to say something when she noticed his eyes dart over her shoulder.

He looked over her shoulder and saw Stefan walking towards a door immediately followed by Tyler.

He said to Hayley "I will be back in a minute."

She looked around and saw Tyler. She said "Klaus no, leave him. You promised you will not confront him or anything."

Klaus said "I am not confronting him about that Hayley even though I feel like ripping his head off of his neck. I want to find out how he is doing. I have not talked to him in person since he has triggered his gene."

She stared into his eyes to see if he was lying or not and then nodded. She walked to one side to take some punch.

Klaus stepped in the hall and asked "what is going on here?"

He looked across the room and saw a man dressed in casual jeans and shirt and was holding Elena by her arm while Stefan holding Tyler by his arm.

His gaze went to Stefan who was just standing there looking at the man.

He approached them wishing he had his gun wondering '_why is Stefan not handling that man and why is he holding Tyler?'_

As he got near that man he noticed something different and he realized that he was a werewolf too but there was something else too.

He asked Stefan "what is going on here?"

Stefan looked at Klaus and said "Klaus, you should leave."

The man holding Elena said coldly in a British accent "Klaus the werewolf. Wonderful. I have been looking for my little hybrid making experiment. I think I will do it right now."

Stefan took a step forward and said "no. Finn".

Klaus looked at the man identified as Finn with curiosity and wondered what is hybrid and then it hit him the thing that he was feeling odd was that Finn was not just a vampire, he was a werewolf too and it seemed he wanted something from Klaus.

Finn laughed and said "careful stefan. You dont want precious Elena to get hurt. Remember she is a human now."

Klaus looked at Stefan and asked "what do you mean she is a human?"

Finn smirked and said "Stefan gave her the cure for the vampirsm and she is cured. She is human now and her blood can be used to make hybrid."

Klaus was about to say something when the door opened and they all turned towards it and his breath stopped as he saw Hayley walking in.

Hayley looked at the situation and knew something was not right.

But before she could retreat, Finn threw Elena aside, whooshed to her and grabbed her arm. Klaus said coldly "let her go. Don't even think about hurting her."

Finn stared at him menacingly and then brought his fangs near her neck to her and his horror. Her eyes met Klaus who took a step towards her but before he could advance further many things happened within seconds and before anyone could react. Finn whooshed to Klaus, held him by his neck, bit his wrist and pushed his lips against the mouth. who struggled with Finn but all in vein and then to Hayley's horror Finn snapped Klaus's neck while she screamed "no" before she put her hand on her mouth and fell on her knees.


	23. Chapter 23 Two paths

**_A/N: TD you ask really interesting questions. Are you in my brain or something? LOL. yes he will get sired to Finn. I am explaining that in this chapter and your other question about Caroline is spot on too but that is being discussed in the next chapter. Aria I knew some fans will get upset about him being a hybid. I have been playing around that idea for the past few days too and that is why it took me so many days to post this chapter. I honestly think that family dramas and supernatural dramas can go hand in hand and that is what I have been expected from TO too. I am trying to find a balnace between these two lives. Dont worry, It is still a Klayey story and there will be family drama. More so now Klaus and Hayley have to find a balance in their two lives. I hope you enjoy the story and dont give up on it. We only have at most 3 more chapters. Other guests thanks for leaving such nice review. It is a really long chapter with nothing serious going on. It is mostly about how Klaus and Hayley handle this change in their life. I hope you enjoy and appreciate what I am trying to do here - finding balance between two lives. _**

**_Synopsis: Klaus has difficulty adjusting to his hybrid nature. He and Hayley come to an agreement about Caroline and how to cope with is situation. He discovers a weird connection with Finn Manning. _**

* * *

><p>Hayley took a step towards unconscious Klaus but Finn whooshed to her and grabbed her arm pulling her aside and hissed "stop. He will come back. He needs to come back."<p>

Stefan took a step towards him and said through gritting teeth "Finn you ass what have you done?!" while Hayley asked with tears steaming down her cheek "come back? what do you mean?"

Tyler looked from Klaus to Hayley to Finn and then said "Finn let her go. She is sick."

Finn looked at Hayley but Hayley moved suddenly and elbowed him in his ribs catching him inattentive and managed to get herself free. She stepped towards Klaus but stopped as she saw him stir and then trying to get up and in that instance realized that she was crying . She wiped her tears and exclaimed "Klaus!"

Stefan looked at Elena who was looking at everything shocked and said in a loud voice "Elena, run."

Elena looked at Klaus and then at Tyler who nodded and then darted to the door.

Klaus stood up looking around in confusion and to Hayley's horror she saw veins starting to appear under his eyes. Finn whooshed to Klaus and grabbed him from his throat and put something in his mouth while he gagged and Hayley screamed. Finn said in a cold voice "you didnt think I would let her run without having some insurance. I didnt need _her_ for the experiment Stefan. I needed her blood."

Hayley looked at Stefan in confusion as he held Tyler trying to get out of his grasp when he said angrily "remove this damn compulsion Finn. You have done what yo wanted to do."

Finn stepped away and Klaus started spitting the blood out. He looked up but to Hayley's horror she saw Klaus's eyes turning yellow.

Stefan asked "what the hell happened Finn?"

Finn said proudly "this gentlemen is my first successful hybrid experiment."

Klaus stepped back from Hayley as he saw horror on her face and said "no. no"

Hayley took a step towards him and said "it is okay. You are okay".

She looked at Tyler who was still in Stefan's grasp and asked "what does he mean by hybrid?"

Tyler said "half werewolf, half vampire Hayley."

Hayley said with anguish "no."

She walked to him as he fell on his knees to ground.

Finn looked at them and then at Stefan and said "you can let him go now. He is next on my list. "

Klaus looked up and said angrily "you touch him and I will kill you."

Finn walked to him and said "considering you are the first of my specie. First rule, don't ever tell me what I can or not do."

He was about to say something when his cell rang. he picked it up and then after listening to the other side for a minute he barked "what?! I will be there". His gaze stopped at Klaus and he said "I will get in touch soon" smiled and left.

After he left klaus asked Stefan "what the hell he did?"

Stefan said "you died with a hybrid's blood in your system and then he fed you the blood of human doppleganger, Elena and now you are a hybrid Klaus."

They all turned towards the door as it opened and Elijah came in.

Elijah looked around and knew something was not right. He darted to Klaus and asked "what happened?"

While Stefan was telling Elijah what had happened as she checked Elena, Hayley tried to touch him but he moved away from her breaking her heart.

When he was done telling Elijah, Stefan walked to her and said "Hayley now that he is a part vampire, he will burn in sun. I will get him a ring - daylight ring which will protect him from burning in sun. You should leave now. Go from the back door before Finn comes back. He is the original hybrid, the first of his kind and is very dangerous. I suggest you guys leave for New Orleans as soon as you can. I will go and tell Caroline what happened and get you a bag of blood if he needs it?"

Hayley asked "why does she have to know?"

Before Klaus could say anything Tyler said "because she is a vampier like Stefan here."

Hayley looked at him in shock, instantly stepped back from Stefan in horror and looked at Klaus and caught him looking at her but didnt say anything. She shook her head and said to Elijah who was still stunned trying to absorb what was happening "help me please."

They both got him in the car and Hayley said "I will go get Hope."

She realized that her hands were shaking. As she entered the hall, Caroline walked to her. Hayley suddenly remembered what Tyler had told her about Caroline and stepped back from he as fear grabbed her heart and asked "where is Hope? We are leaving."

Caroline asked "where have you guys been?"

At the same time she noticed Stefan walking to them.

He said "I have got it. I will give it to you outside. Hayley just remember dont get him out in the sun until he gets that ring. He is in for a rough road. I will get the ring to the penthouse by morning and then I will help you with it. I dont know how he will act. He might need some blood. I will get you some blood before you leave."

He looked at Caroline and said "Finn Manning turned Klaus into a hybrid."

Caroline head spun in Hayley direction and the look on her face confirmed her suspicion that she knows about her too.

Meanwhile Hayley spotted Hope, darted to her, picked her up,thanked the baby sitter, hastily bid farewell to Kol and left for her car again. Elijah was now joined by Tyler and they were waiting for her. Elijah said "you are in no condition to drive. Let me drop you." Hayley nodded, buckled Hope in with shaking hands and sat on the passenger seat and buckled herself in.

She turned back and held his hand but he freed it.

Elijah saw him through the rare view mirror and said "Niklaus it will be okay. We are here for you." but he just stared out of window.

Elijah looked at the blood bag in her hand and said "is that for…"

Hayley said "Stefan said he might need it. I dont know what to do."

Elijah said "lets take one step at a time."

He helped Hayley take Klaus up to the apartment. Klaus said dejectedly "I am fine Elijah, go."

He stood there for a moment, hesitating and then left after saying "Hayley if you need anything call me."

After he left Klaus looked around furiously. Hayley asked him "what do you need?"

Klaus said "something to eat."

And walked to the kitchen. He looked at Hayley and saw the throbbing vein in her neck and stepped back as he realized the thought that had crossed his mind.

Hayley said "Klaus what?!" but he told her harshly "Hayley stay away. I can smell your blood. stay away. Keep Hope away from me."

He stepped back from her until his back touched the door. He closed his eyes and tired to block the rushing sound of the blood but he couldn't so he darted to the bathroom and closed the door. Hayley stood there feeling helpless when her cell rang. Hayley picked it up and groaned as she saw Tyler's name. As she said "hello" Tyler asked "how are you doing?"

Hayley sighed, looked towards the bathroom and said "I dont know" and then asked exasperated "what should I do?"

Tyler said "Hayley, talk to Stefan. His number must be in Klaus's cell. If I know vampires and I know some, then he needs to feed on blood right now."

Klaus took the phone from her hand and switched it off saying "no i will not drink blood. I can cope with without blood. Stefan does it all the time."

Hayley took the phone from his hand and said "okay." She paused for a moment and then asked "how are you feeling?"

Klaus stepped back from her saying "I think I want to be alone right now."

Hayley snapped "no. Not at all. You will stay with me in this room."

She turned around as she heard a timid voice "mommy".

She walked to Hope and said "hey sweetie. I am sorry. Mommy got distracted about something. Come lets go to sleep."

She looked back at Klaus who was still standing there looking at them with agonizing expressions. She took Hope to the other room and after changing her clothes, bedtime routine put her to bed.

Klaus didnt know what to do when he heard Hope's saying "I want daddy to read to me."

and Hayley replying "baby, daddy is having a headache right now. May be tomorrow. Okay?"

He picked up the blood bag she had put on the counter.

After making sure Hope has gone to sleep, Hayley left the bedroom and walked out to see Klaus holding the blood bag and staring at it and then as she saw him holding the blood bag and then as she saw he threw it across the room and yelled in anguish. She gulped her tears and walked to him and grabbed his arm and said "listen everything will be okay."

Klaus turned to her and shouted "_Hayley nothing will be okay. I had just started getting used to being a wolf and now this! I think I am being punished for what I did to you._"

Hayley said "no please don't go there. Listen you should rest. I will call Stefan. He can help. Why don't you lie on that sofa if you don't want to go to bedroom. I will stay with you. Let me clean that and then I will be with you in a second."

He looked at her in anguish. Hayley hesitated and said "do you need blood?"

Klaus looked at her in confusion and asked "what?"

Hayley said "you threw the blood bag so I was thinking do you want blood?"

He looked at her for a moment and then his mind cleared up and he snapped "dont be an idiot. I will not drink from you!"

Hayley said with a slight smile "well I am glad to know that but you dont have to sound offended. It is not like my blood is poison."

Klaus abruptly looked away making the smile slip from her face.

She asked "what?"

Klaus held his head and said "your blood in fact can kill a vampire. It is the cancer in the blood that can make them sick. Remember that vampire who drank from you. He was getting sick with your blood so Marcel put him out of his misery."

Hayley asked "why didn't you tell me about it before?"

As he laid down on the sofa she dialed Stefan's number and said "hello Stefan, this is Hayley. I was wondering when will you come with the ring? We have a flight at 12:00. I was wondering maybe you can help Klaus with this bloodlust thing."

Klaus listened to her with closed eyes and then sat up as he heard a sound which sounded very much like a heart beating. He looked at Hayley and realized that it was her heart. He sighed as he realized that his hearing has intensified by becoming a vampire. He got up and walked towards the bedroom knowing well Hayley's eyes were following him as she continued to talk to Stefan. He stopped at the door and saw Hope sleeping on the sofa. He could hear her rapid heartbeat and that was just making his own heart race. He put his hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat and looked around as he felt her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her and smiled helplessly and asked "when is he coming?"

Hayley said "he said his friend is working on it. He will come around 10ish. Why dont you sleep Klaus?"

Klaus walked back to the sofa and fell on it.

He looked around and said "can you hear it?"

Hayley said "what?"

Klaus said "that tick tock."

Hayley said "you can hear it from the room?"

Klaus said "I can hear your heart beat Hayley. I know you are scared of me"

Hayley walked to him and sat next to him and said "go to sleep please. Dont think about it."

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but he couldnt. All he could think of was about what will happen to Hope and Hayley if he loses control on everything. '_How can he gain control over it? He is dead. He is a vampire. How can Hayley tolerate him now?'_ He didnt know when he drifted off to sleep.

Hayley stared at him for a moment and after making sure that he had gone to sleep she got up and cleaned up the blood from that blood bag and then went to sleep in the bedroom.

Next morning when she woke up, she looked towards the bedroom door and saw him standing there. She said "you can come in you know."

Klaus shook his head and said "no I think I shouldn't. I felt hungry and ate some cereal. Feel better. That means I should be able to control my blood lust."

Hayley said as she got up "that is great. Let Stefan come and you can ask him."

She did the packing while Klaus unwillingly kept Hope busy. He looked around after a few moments and realized that she had kept the curtains closed and smiled sadly and looked at her as she put Hope's toys in her carryon. Around 10 she called Stefan again but no one attended the call so she put it down with frustration and said "if Stefan cannot make it before our flight then we might shave to postpone our flight Klaus. You cannot go without the ring."

Around 10:30 Hayley started getting anxious and was going to call Stefan again when they heard the bell. She darted to the door and saw Stefan and Elijah standing there. Elijah said "I wanted to come earlier but I thought you guys could use some alone time to deal with it. How is he doing?"

Hayley said "he is fine right now. Stefan where is the ring? We have to leave."

Elijah said "Hayley I think you should postpone your trip."

Klaus said taking the ring from Stefan "no I think we should leave. There is nothing we can do over here. I have a friend in New Orleans who can help me with this. I just have to make it through the flight."

He looked at Stefan and said "is it normal that I am not having bloody craving since last night?"

Stefan said "I am not sure. You should be. I dont know why you are not craving blood but if you are not then well and good. Just make sure you have proper diet so that you dont feel hungry."

An hour later after Elijah dropped them at airport and said "if you need anything call me."

Klaus said "Elijah I wanted to tell Kol and Rebekah about our curse, now I cannot. You should tell them. Call Mason and Tyler. Seeing them will help."

A few hours later they were driving towards their home. She kept glancing at him while he was driving the car noticing that his mood had changed during the journey. She looked towards the back seat and saw Hope was asleep so she asked him "hey are you okay?"

Klaus looked at her and said angrily "No I am not bloody okay."

He hit his hand on the steering wheel and then said regretfully "I am sorry. I shouldn't have shouted."

Hayley held his hand on the steering wheel and said "it is okay. Everything will be okay. I will talk to Marcel and he can help you deal with this. I will be there with you all the time. Remember we are in this for better and worse."

Klaus chanced her a glance and then removed her hand from his breaking her heart but she said "Klaus don't do that. You were fine yesterday. What happened? We will figure something out."

When he didn't say anything she got quiet and started staring out of window thinking of what had happened in the past three days and how her life has totally changed again. Suddenly she remembered that Caroline was a vampire and that was just too shocking information for her. She suddenly realized that the event of last 24 hours had managed to keep her mind off of that fact but now it had started to sink in that she was a vampire and she stayed in their house for three days with Hope in the house. She looked at Klaus angrily for hiding this form him but saw that he was already brooding so she decided to talk to him later.

He parked the car and took Hope out still not saying anything to her. He picked up their bag from other hand and carried it upstairs to their apartment. He laid her on the bed and turned around and bumped into Hayley. She said tentatively "Klaus!" but he cut her off by saying "not right now Hayley" and left the room.

She stood there looking at Hope wondering '_how will she be able to support him now'_. At last she fixed her blanket, kissed her on the forehead and retreated.

When she entered her room, he was already in the bed. She went to change her clothes and sneaked under the covers with him.

She tired to reach out to him but he was too aloof.

Next morning when Hayley woke up she saw him standing near the window and then she jumped out of the bed as she recognized the thing he was holding in his hand. She shouted "Klaus!"

She ran to him and pulled him back from the sun and continued shouting "are you crazy? Don't you ever do that again. You told me never to quit and now you are quitting on things."

He tried to free himself but she held him tight this time and said sternly "listen. This is crazy. I love you."

She leaned in and planted a fierce kiss on his lips. As she was kissing him she felt drained of energy all of a sudden and it become softer. She broke the contact and looked into his eyes and said "I know it is a huge thing. I cannot even imagine what you are going through but please if not for me then for Hope fight this. We can fight this together."

Klaus said "I don't know how to deal with this. I know what I am now. A vampire- a blood sucking vampire Hayley. I cannot be that Hayley. I will not be that."

Hayley said in a calming voice "okay. You dont want to be that then we can do something about it."

She thought for a moment and then said "how about Marcel? May be he can help. May be there is something vampires can do if they dont want to drink blood."

She suddenly realized what she had said and started laughing.

He looked at her with annoyance and said "what is so funny?"

She said "this. This is so ridiculous. A few months ago my biggest concern was my cancer and Hope and now I am talking about vampires and wolves. And it does not even sound weird to me."

He asked "how come you are so calm? Why aren't you panicking? I am a monster now."

Hayley shook her head and said "no Klaus. You are the same person you were when we left for that damn party. Damn it. I knew nothing good will come out of going to Caroline's party."

She saw a smile appear on his lips. She asked "what is it?"

Klaus said "at least you are not angry with me about Caroline."

Hayley said "who said I am not angry?! I am still angry. You hid such a big thing about her from _me!_ How could you Klaus?"

Klaus said with exasperation "Hayley, I wanted to tell you but then I decided against it because I wanted you and her to be friends. I wanted you two to be friends. She will always be part of my life."

Hayley said adamantly "no Klaus she will not be part of your life any more. Either her or us, me and Hope. It was already different for me to have in your life before but not now._ She is a vampire._ She cannot come to my house again. On that note we cannot uninvited her from our home so we have to change this apartment now. We have a daughter. I will not expose her to Caroline. Klaus trust me women know other women better. Caroline is playing some game to get you back. I know you will not believe me but she told me that she will get you back at any cost. Until now I didn't know the extend that she can go to but now that I know that she is a vampire I am afraid that she might use her vampire abilities to get you. Please listen to me once. I will not put Hope's life in jeopardy."

Klaus looked at her wondering '_how dumb of him to not realize all of that. Even if Caroline was not playing the game Hayley suspects her of playing he shouldn't have invited a vampire to his home, the home where Hope and Hayley who are both human are living.' _

He said "alright. You are right. I will start looking for a house Hayley but how are we going to get through this Hayley? I am a vampire now."

Hayley said "no. As I understand you are part vampire, part werewolf. Just remember to never take this ring off. You will burn. I think we need to talk to Marcel about this. How about while you are at work I will call him and ask him to come over. You trust him right?"

Klaus said "yes, I do. How can I go to work in this condition. What if I need blood?!"

Hayley looked at him helplessly and then said "take a sick day then. I will go and drop Hope to school and call Marcel. He can come over and we can figure out something."

Klaus nodded and sat on the bed again and fell down. She said "you should eat something. Just anything."

He looked at her and laughed helplessly and said "I think I am okay for right now."

She looked at him for a moment and then went to the bathroom to change.

She stood there in front of the vanity and then out of blue started throwing up. After she was done, she washed her face, took a quick shower, changed her clothes, tied her hair loosely at the base of his neck and then came out.

She saw him still lying on the bed with eyes closed. She walked to him but she has not reached him when he said "I can hear voices from next apartment."

Hayley said "what?"

Klaus opened his eyes and said "I can hear voice from next apartment Hayley. This is not normal. I can hear you heart beating like crazy right now. Are you afraid of me?"

Hayley suddenly said "don't be an idiot. Have you called in sick? Called Marcel yet?"

Klaus said "no. I have not. It is still early. Vampires don't start their day so early!"

She said "okay I am going to get Hope ready and take her to the school. Will be back in an 40 minutes."

She got Hope ready while wondering _'how to deal with Klaus.'_ She sighed as she gave her breakfast, told her daddy was sleeping when she asked her about Klaus, left the apartment to drop her to the school.

While Hayley had gone to drop off Hope Klaus spend the time thinking about how to handle this thing in his life. He got up from the bed reluctantly, went to take shower. After shower he dialed Marcel.

By the time she came back he had already taken shower and was sitting in the living room looking composed.

He turned to her and said "Marcel will be coming in half an hour. I decided to call him after you left."

Hayley said "good. Listen Klaus Hope was asking about you. I told her that you were sleeping but you have to see her. Tell me you can control yourself around her."

Klaus looked a her thoughtfully and said "yes. I can Hayley."

She walked to the sofa and kissed him and said "and dont bite me either too."

Klaus stared at her wondering if she was joking or serious but realized that she was joking so he just kept quiet.

Hayley smiled but Klaus noticed the smile not reaching her eyes. He was about to say something when she gulped and put a hand to her mouth, closed her eyes for a second and said "I will be back."

Klaus sighed knowing well where she has gone. When she came back, he saw her going to Hope's room. He got up after a few moments and walked to Hope's room and saw her making her bed.

She turned around at a sound and saw him leaning against the door. She asked him "what is it?"

Klaus said "I am sorry that you are already not feeling well and now you have go through all of this too."

Hayley said "It is okay Klaus."

Klaus stood there for a minute and then turned around and left. She stared at that spot he was standing and suddenly realized that he was not staying in the same room with her ever since she has come back. To test her theory she quickly fixed Hope's bed and went to the living room. She asked him after a few seconds of observing him pacing in the living room agitatedly "have you talked to Marcel? when is he coming?"

Klaus said "10:30" and headed towards his room. She walked to him and stopped him by holding his arm and asked "running away from me?"

Before he could say anything they heard a knock at the door. Klaus sighed and went to open it. When Marcel didn't make an effort to come in he looked back at Hayley and then back at Marcel and said tentatively "come in."

As Marcel entered Klaus took a sigh of relief and led him int he living room.

Klaus said "Marcel, something happened during my visit to Mystic Falls."

Marcel stared at him and then stood up slowly and said "yes something has. You are not a werewolf anymore."

Klaus sighed and said "yes I am not. I met someone by the name of Finn…." he paused as he saw shock on Marcel's expressions and asked "you know him?!"

Marcel said "you met Finn Manning?!"

Klaus said "yes! but how do you know him?"

Marcel said "he is the one who sired me when he was just a vampire. You know he is in New Orleans right now. He came back yesterday. What happened?"

Klaus said "he turned me into a hybrid; part werewolf, part vampire as I understand."

Marcel looked from Hayley to Klaus and said "what?! when?"

Klaus said "day before yesterday. Now he is in New Orleans?! Now that I remember, he did get a call after he did all of this and he left so he came to New Orleans?"

Marcel said bitterly "yes, he came here. Any way so that is why you called me? You a Hybrid. interesting."

Klaus couldnt help but detect bitterness in his tone but before he could ask anything Hayley said "how can he control his urges for blood."

Marcel said "well if he were just a vampire, I would say that he has to have blood to not decay… sorry you have to get used to this terminology" at the look of disgust on Klaus's face. But then he continued "but now that you are a part vampire, may be you can live on just food for a few days but eventually you will have to take it otherwise your body will lose energy. I think if you keep a balance diet with proteins, carbohydrates and all that crap you might live a few days without blood. If you feel very lethargic even after the regular food and you crave for food then you have to indulge yourself in blood. Considering your line of work, you will be seeing quite a lot of blood so you need to control your craving for blood if you get any."

He looked at Hayley who was looking nervous but composed too and continued "and you have to very careful about her blood. Her cancer can kill you."

Hayley said "yes Klaus told me that. Thanks for doing that for us" as Klaus stood up and walked to the window. She looked at his back and asked Marcel "anything else Marcel that we need to know?"

Marcel said looking at Klaus "no. Unfortunately I dont know a lot about hybrids but I can find out from Finn. I will not tell him about you Klaus. He is very dangerous man. You should stay away from him."

Marcel got up and said "I have to leave. If you need anything do call me. Also I would suggest that you put this apartment in Hayley's name because you being a vampire cannot be legal owner of any property. Any vampire or Finn can come to you house."

Klaus looked back at him and said "I will take care of it."

Marcel nodded and left.

After seeing him off Hayley came back and found him in the kitchen making coffee.

Klaus looked around and said "I needed coffee."

He poured himself a cup of coffee and left the kitchen.

Hayley kept glancing at him sitting in the living room working on his laptop. His calmness about all of this was starting to unnerve her and she knew in her heart that it was the calmness before the storm. At last an hour later she walked to him and asked "what are you doing?"

Klaus said without looking at her "preparing document to transfer my assets to your and Hope's name. I had already done to our accounts but had not gotten time to do for other things with everything going on in our lives. Now is the time to do it."

Hayley said "what?"

He looked up towards her and said "I am making document to…" but she cut him off by saying "I got that but why?"

Klaus asked "did you not hear Marcel, Hayley?"

Hayley said "yes I did but that does not mean that you should transfer all your property in my name."

Klaus looked at her surprised expressions and couldnt help but smile and said "why so surprised Hayley? You are my wife. You have right to everything I have. It was always going to be all of us but I never felt the need to put it on your name but now I think it should go to your name considering technically I am half dead."

Hayley snapped "stop. You are not dead so stop. I dont need anything from your property."

But before he could say anything she had gone to their bedroom. She felt so angry at him that she was happy that he didnt come after her.

Around noon she was about to go out to get Hope when he said "I will go."

Hayley looked at him for a moment and then said "sure."

When they came back, they had lunch together and then went to the park. She could see that he was acting normal around Hope but she often caught him lost in thoughts staring at that ring many times.

That night Klaus was lying on the bed cursing his bad luck when he felt her hand on his torso. He tried to push it away when she said "Klaus please. Just let me be with you."

He sighed and put his hand on her hand and for the first time ever since he had declared his love for her he didnt put his arm around her and went to sleep.

Next morning when he got up, he looked at Hayley and saw that she was still sleeping. He sneaked out of bed quietly and went to take shower. By the time he came out she was up. He asked her "you want me to drop Hope?"

Hayley said "no, her summer break started today. How are you feeling?"

Klaus said "I am good. I dont have any craving which is good. I am leaving for work."

Hayley said "I was thinking of doing the house hunt today. What do you have in mind?"

Klaus said "wait. I was thinking of talking to Elijah about moving to his house. He is not living there so we can use that house."

Hayley said "okay" as she got out of bed and walked to him and held his arm.

She said "listen you will tell me if something changes or you find something odd right?"

Klaus nodded and then turned away and left without saying anything.

During the drive to work he called Elijah and said "I am looking for a new house but until then I need a place to live so I was wondering can I move into your house."

Elijah said "yes you can actually. This is perfect timings. I have already transferred that house in your name. It was done over the weekend but with everything going on I didnt get a chance to tell you. Consider it a late wedding present."

Klaus said "Elijah you didnt have to do it."

Elijah said "yes I didn't have to but I wanted to."

Klaus said "thanks."

He was about to cut him off when Eljah asked "how are you doing?"

KLaus said "peachy" and cut Elijah off.

He thanked his luck as Ben gave him some paperwork to do so they were saved from running around after perps and solving cases for that day.

Two days later they moved to Elijah' house and Hayley took a sigh of relief. For the next few days Klaus tried to manage his new condition just like he had managed the werewolf thing but he realized that it was not the same. As the days were passing by the reality of what had happened was setting in and it was becoming harder and harder to cope with it. There were days when he felt he couldnt manage anything and there were days when it seemed everything was fine but deep down he knew that he will never accept it. The biggest change he noticed in him was he was losing his temper at every small thing at home as well as at work and that he sometimes craved for blood which he satisfied by taking a gulp from the blood bag, hidden at the back of the freezer. At work he could see that Alexis was noticing the change in him but felt glad that she didnt ask him about it. At home he was starting to get angry at Hayley and shouting at Hope for making noises and playing with toys that make sounds. In those instances Hayley would just grab Hope and leave home leaving him to ponder on what he was going to do. He had stopped reading to Hope before gong to bed, stop responding to Hayley when she tried to reach out to him.

He lost control one day at work and ended up breaking the arm of a perp who was trying to resist the arrest so Ben called him in and asked him what has been going on but he didnt know what to say so Ben let him go after advising him to control his temper considering he is werewolf and it can cause serious damage to someone if he does not control his behavior. Before they knew it a week went by and the weekend came. During this time he got a call from Elijah every day which sometimes he attended whereas other time he would just ignore it. Klaus was watching television when Hope came running in the living room saying "mommy, can you fix this?" but she stopped as she saw Klaus sitting in the living room.

Klaus looked at her as she stood there holding her blocks in her hand.

She asked after some hesitation not moving from her spot "where is mommy?

Klaus looked around and said "she must be taking shower. What is it?" rather annoyingly.

Hope shook her head and said "I want mommy."

Klaus whose eyes were fixed on tv suddenly looked at her and realized that she was scared of him. He said "Hope come her" but she shook her had and in fact took one step back to his heartache.

Hayley had just came out of the room when she saw Hope step back from Klaus. One look at Klaus's face told him that he had noticed that. She hastily said "Hope , come have some snack."

Hope gave Klaus one last look and followed her.

Klaus turned towards the tv as he heard Hope say "mommy can you fix these blocks?"

He sat there listening to Hayley saying "yes, give it here. Now tell me what do you want to do after we have snack."

Hope said "park."

Hayley said "do you want to go and ask daddy to come with us."

He groaned as he heard that but the next sentence just made the pit in his stomach bigger as he heard he say "no."

He turned the tv off and went to his bedroom and banged the door shut.

Hayley turned around and looked at Hope who was not playing with the blocks that she had attached and asked "why?"

When Hope didnt answer she walked to her and knelt down next to her and asked "why not Hope? You know daddy has so much fun with you."

Hope said without looking at her "daddy is angry."

Hayley felt her heart sink. She said "Hope he is just busy sweetie."

Klaus was lying on the bed thinking about the conversation he had overheard when the door opened and Hayley came in.

Hayley looked at Klaus and said "listen Hope and I are going to the park. We will be back in one hour."

As she turned she stepped back as he appeared in front of her. She asked "how?"

Klaus said angrily "I have super speed now. Hayley I dont appreciate you turning her against me."

Hayley looked at him in confusion and said "what?"

Klaus shouted "you are turning her against me. After all I have tried to do for her and you are trying to instill fear in her for me!"

Hayley looked at him in shock and then she tried to calm herself but couldnt so she said coldly "look at yourself. If anyone is scaring her that is _you_. Not me. Go and look at yourself."

She turned to leave when he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him and continued in the same tone "I am warning you Hayley if I find out that you are telling her not to come close to me then …"

Hayley looked at his grasp and said in a detached voice "Klaus you are hurting me."

Klaus looked at her face and then followed his eyes and saw the tight grip on her arm. He removed them and then cursed "damn it" as he saw angry finger prints appearing at the spot he was holding her.

Hayley massaged her arm and went to the walking closet.

He looked up when she came out and saw her back in a full sleeves shirt. He said "Hayley…" but she said coldly "calm yourself down by the time I am back and then we can talk."

After she left he sat on the bed thinking about what had happened in the last one week and for once he could see things clearly. He could see that things were slipping from his control. Work, Hope and Hayley.

He got up and started pacing and then he changed and left the house. He spend the next few hours trying to calm himself down and to change his attitude with Hope.

When he got home, Hayley was putting Hope in bed. She looked around as she sensed him and asked "where were you?"

Klaus walked into the room saying "just driving around. How was the park?" He looked at Hope at the end of the sentence but she didn't answer.

Hayley who was looking at Klaus noticed his eyes narrowing. She followed his gaze and saw him staring at Hope's hand holding hers. She wondered '_is she that scared of Klaus? that is not good' _and her heart broke for both of them. She suddenly felt sorry for him and said "do you want to read to her? I can clean up her room in the mean time."

Klaus nodded and walked to Hope's bed and picked up a book from her side table.

As he was reading it, he noticed her looking at Hayley again and again and that just broke his heart. At last he closed the book in anger and left.  
>Hayley sighed, finished the book for Hope, tucked her in, kissed her on her forehead and left the room after turning on the night light.<p>

She went to the kitchen and saw that he was standing near the dishwasher holding a dirty plate and lost in thoughts. She walked to him and said "are you okay?"

Klaus looked at her and laughed humorlessly and said "do you bloody think that I am okay?! My daughter hates me. My life has been turned upside down and you are asking me if I am okay."

He put the plate in the sink and went to their room.

Hayley sighed, completed the task he was doing, cleaned up the kitchen, mentally prepared herself to talk to him and then headed to their room.

As she entered he was lying on the bed. She walked to him and sat down and said "I cannot even begin to imagine what you are going through because until you share with me I cannot but I want to tell you one thing. If you keep on at this you will push her further away from you."

When he looked at her she continued "she is already going through a lot because of my cancer and has been relying on you a lot because in her mind I might die… no let me continue" as he opened his mouth to say something "you brought on some stability in her life. She didnt know a father figure who could love her like you do. It is because of you she has been opening up more and more, happy and talking more. I can see the difference in her from the time when we got married and now for the past week she is seeing you as a different person. I _might_ have some idea what you are going through but she does not. It is not her fault what is happening to either of us."

When he continued to remain quiet she continued "the way I see it Klaus you have two paths here. Either you dont deal with it and crawl in some cave and spend your life regretting what had happened to you or learn to love with it. I took second path in the two major events of my life and not a day has gone by I have regretting taking that path. I am not telling you to take the second path but I would love it if you try it for Hope's sake. This is the first and the last time I am telling you all this. I will never leave you because frankly I am being selfish. I need you in Hope's and my life. I love you so I am selfish motive for staying with you . I came into your life for Hope's sake. Now you have to decide what are you willing to do for her. You already did one thing for her sake- marrying me, letting go of love of your life. Is it too hard for you to do another thing for her?"

She looked at him for a moment and then went to change her clothes. By the time she came out he was not in the room. She sighed and fell on the bed and cried herself to sleep knowing well that he had not come to bed all night.

Next morning when she woke up he was not in the room. She changed her clothes with heavy heart wondering where he was, slightly starting to get worried about him. When she came out she saw him sitting in the living room with Hope snuggled close to him - both of them watching Tom and Jerry.

He turned towards her and mouthed "I am not promising anything but I will try."

She smiled and went to the kitchen.

For the next week he tried different approach, taking option two and to his surprise it was effective approach. Children are resilient, he understood the meaning of that when Hope started to warm up to him again and he realized all that little girl needed was love and reassurance and that Hayley was right it was not her fault that her parents were sick, one can be cured but other has no cure so he has to learn to live with it. While things seemed same on the surface but he and Hayley both noticed his change in taste for meat. He has started liking a bit underdone and occasionally he craved blood which he satisfied by taking a sip from the blood bag that Marcel had dropped by one day.

As the days were passing by he was becoming bit more confident that he can deal with it. With this confidence he started to relax around the house too. He was still avoiding Hayley and he realized that it was hurting her but he thought _'how can he with her? he is not worthy of her anymore'_ and stayed away from her. He could see her trying to reach out but giving him space at that same time and be there for him too whenever he needed her. He did all the research on vampires and discovered his new abilities, compulsion, speed, improved healing ability. He even managed to stop a bullet in mid track one day and ended up saving a child's life. That day he realized that his new powers could be very handy in his line of work even though he had to go through a bogus explanation that bullet hit his jacket but after that day he started to feel more receptive towards his abilities. He was also realizing that all of this was happening because of the continuous support Hayley had been giving him even though he was keeping distance from her, Elijah calling him everyday showing his support. During this time, despite their lack of communication, to honor the support she was giving him and the promise he had made to her, he had made it a point to tell her if he made some new discovery about himself like heightened sense of smell, speed and healing ability which he already had but now his blood could heal others too. He felt relieved every time when she wouldn't show no sign of fear or apprehension after those discussions or demonstrations.

Hayley was getting desperate with each passing day as she noticed the distance he was creating between them. She wanted to be there for him but she wanted to give him some space to cope up with things too so she did the best she could; be there for him when he asked for her, needed her. The fact that he was sharing things with her about his new abilities was some relief. The fact that he was not letting this thing come between him and Hope anymore was a relief too. Seeing them together bonding while watching cartoons, reading books, playing, telling each other stories, chatting, him putting her to bed, finding her cozied up to him while watching cartoons after she would come back from kitchen was such a great sight that she would forget half of her heartache and just smile. She tried her best to show him that she was not scared of his new abilities but when late at night she laid in the bed with no sleep in her eyes she let the fear control her heart which she realized was somewhat cathartic for her. All of tension was building up in her and the apprehension of what kind of life they will have was starting to take a toll on her and she knew that she was near her breaking point. The only relief she had these days was that Hope was home due to summer break otherwise she would have gone crazy by now being alone home all day nothing to do but to think about their situation. During the past one week she had started taking her to the bayou again. Eve was really happy to see her and bonded with Hope in no time. Hayley realized that the highlight of her day was the time she spend in the bayou with Eve finding out more about her pack and the lives wolves lead. She even got in touch with Marcel and they talked a lot about Klaus and what does becoming a vampire means. The more she learned about werwolves and vampires form Eve and Marcel respectively, the more she realized the difficult road ahead of him and with extension her too.

On Thursday, two weeks after moving to their new home, when he came from work he was feeling very light. He and Alexis had managed to catch a man who had been robbing some rich old women in an old home. While Hayley continued to clean the kitchen he helped Hope in bed. When he came out she had retreated into the room too. He thought for a moment, of past two weeks, about how much he had ignored her, how much effort she had been showing and how sad she had been looking for the past a few days. When he entered their room, she was pulling the bedcover off of the bed. She said "I am really tired today and I have a radiotherapy appointment tomorrow so I was thinking of taking an early night."

When he asked "radiotherapy? Are you ready for it?" she turned to him and said "Dr Dole did my blood work a few days ago and said that I am okay for the next step so radiation starts tomorrow. It will be every day from Monday to Friday for the next six weeks. I have to go for a half an hour every day. They say that it will take 10-15 minute each session but for the preparation etc it might take longer. I have gotten appointments at 7:30 am so that you can stay with Hope while I am away."

She was walking towards the walking closet when she felt a pair of hands go around her waist making her stop in her track. She gulped the sudden tears that were threatening to come to her eyes but didnt turn around and slumbered on his chest as she felt his soft lips on her neck and heard him whisper "I am sorry Hayley for the past two weeks. I just needed some time to deal with all of this. Thank you for giving me that space. I dont know if I ever be same or not but I will try."

Hayley put her hands on his hand and said "as long as you try Klaus I can deal with anything."

He turned her towards him and leaned in to kiss her which she almost returned. As the kiss started deepening he felt weird energy and before he knew it he had whooshed her to the bed to her surprise. He said "Oh god. I am sorry. I keep on forgetting I have super speed now."

Hayley said "it is fine. Please don't stop."

She started unbuttoning his shirt with shaky hands. Klaus held her hand and asked "you nervous?"

Hayley said "a little bit but that is to be expected. No? I remember when we made love after I found out about you being a werewolf. I was nervous at that time too."

Klaus kissed her neck while saying "you never looked nervous to me."

Hayley said "well I am pretty good at hiding my feelings most of the time" and moaned loud as his hands sneaked under her shirt and grabbed her breast while his mouth travelled down her body. She pulled his shirt off and then started on his pants while his hands got busy with her bra and before they knew it they were out of their clothes.

Even though he was making moves on her but Hayley could feel something different in their love making. She could feel his hesitation so she asked him "why are you holding back?"

Klaus said as his lips moved on neck "I am afraid. I might hurt you."

Hayley touched his cheek and said "you will never hurt me Klaus."

Klaus said "I dont know. I feel that I will lose control."

She could feel him getting hard against her body. She ran her hand on his back ideally and said "the very fact that you feel that you are losing control means that you are not losing it."

He looked into her eyes and caught her left nipple in his lips and sucked on it before moving to the right one and then after many weeks he kissed her scar making her moan and grab onto his back. She had her eyes closed when she suddenly felt her back off the mattress. She opened them and realized that she was on top of him. She stared into his eyes as she straddled him and threw her head back as he gently squeezed her breast again. He pulled her close to him and said "you look beautiful" as his lips caught her lips. As he was gently sucking on to her lips she felt his hand travel from her back to the ass and grabbed it gently and squeezed it. She moaned as she felt his tongue move into her mouth and his hand went down between her legs. She waited for his fingers to touch her but they never and sensing his hesitation she said "do it". She moaned as his fingers touched her and ran her fingers through his hair and felt his mouth leave her mouth and move to her breast as his left arm engulfed her body tightly. She felt the jolt as he switched the positions again using his newly discovered vampire speed and pinned her under him and he parted her legs with his right hand while with left hand he caressed her breast and he took her.

When he climaxed with her, both of them knew they had never felt this way ever before. She said as he was panting against her neck "oh god this was wonderful. This was great. I must tell you that I like your new vampire speed" she finished off laughing and running her fingers through his hair.

Klaus said "have I hurt you? I lost control."

Hayley said "dont be an idiot. You were perfect. It was great. I am fine. Dont worry about me."

He smiled, his first relaxed smile after many days. When he got off of her he pulled her towards him and said "I dont know what would I have done if I didnt have you."

Hayley said "crash and die I suppose", winked and continued "I think you would have been great on your own too" as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly.

He kissed her back and said "this was actually great."

Hayley said smiling ear to ear "I know. I mean it is always great but something was different today. I wonder what that is?!"

Klaus laughed and pulled her close to her tighter and said "so tell me about this radiation thing. How will they do it? Any more side affects? Why not on weekends? Do we have to keep Hope away from you?"

Hayley kissed his ears saying "hmm so many questions and here I was worrying that you are losing interest in my health. So lets start with how does it work. They will focus it on that particular area by a radiation machine. It is generally painless and is like going for an x-ray. Now side effects of external radiation therapy, the one I am getting, are related to the area that is being treated and go away within a few weeks after treatment ends. Nothing serious and can be controlled with medication or diet. Many patients have no side effects from radiation therapy. It is just same old ones fatigue, skin changes in the treatment area e.g., redness, irritation, and dryness. Hair loss is possible if radiation is delivered to the head so no worries there. About damn time my hair stop falling. On weekends they don't give radiation because they want body to recover a bit. Normal cells recover. No you don't have to keep Hope away form me. only if she is sick or something."

Klaus asked "are you scared?"

Hayley leaned back, settled down in his arms as he pulled her in a hug and said "no but I am scared of it coming back Klaus. I cannot go through this again. I don't want to put you and Hope through this again."

Klaus said "I will take you to your appointment. Hope and I will wait there until you are done and then after dropping you off I will go to work."

Hayley said "thanks but Dr Dole told me that I can drive after radiotherapy session unless I feel very much fatigued."

Klaus said "well as long as I am available I will be with you."

He pulled her closer to her, buried his face in her thinning hair and went to sleep.

Next morning while driving back from the hospital after her first radiotherapy session he held her hand and asked "how are you feeling?"

Hayley said "fine. Nothing at all. No pain, no fatigue."

She looked back at Hope who was playing with her doll and asked "was she okay?"

Klaus said "yes."

He continued holding her hand but the rest of the drive was quiet. He got out of the car with them and said "I need to get something from inside."

Klaus was leaving the house after dropping Hayley at house, when he stopped in his track as he saw Finn Manning standing in his driveway. He stared at him and he started to see angry stars at the smirk on his face. His first instinct was to punch him on the face but he calmed himself down and asked with annoyance "what are you doing here?"

Finn laughed and said "you didn't think that I will not keep track of my investment. The day Marcel came from meeting you I could smell you on him. I have been keeping an eye on you. Cute family you have here."

Klaus said coldly "keep them out of it."

Finn smiled and asked "aren't you going to invite me in."

Klaus said harshly "no."

Finn laughed "I knew the moment I saw you that I would like you. I think you should invite me in."

Klaus opened his mouth to say no but instead the words that came out of his mouth were "why dont you come in?"

As Finn tired to step in he felt a force stopping him. He smiled and said "very clever. lets talk outside."

Klaus stared at him and stepped out after closing the door. As he closed the door and stepped out he wondered why was he not being able to say no to Finn Manning. Why is he willing to come out and talk to him?

As he stepped out Finn Manning said "you are the first of my kind but before I make more of us would like to see how are you coping with this new change before I make more."

Klaus hissed "If you think I will let you make more hybrids then you are wrong."

Finn laughed and said "and I would not expect any less from you. Next on my list is Tyler Lockwood. As I understand he is your cousin right?"

Klaus stopped closer to him and said "if you go near him I will kill you."

Finn said "first thing you should know about Originals. We cannot die. It seems that you are doing great. When it will be time to go to Mystic Fall I will inform you."

Before Klaus could say anything else he said "you know you should be grateful to me. I have saved you from the pain of turning every full moon, you have speed, heightened listening abilities, strength and healing ability" and whooshed out of there.

Klaus stood there steaming in anger thinking about what he has said and decided to warn Tyler to leave Mystic Falls.

During the drive to the station he picked up his cell and dialed Tyler's number but when Tyler didnt attend the call even after a few bells he dialed Elijah number in frustration and said "Finn Manning visited me today. Glad he couldn't get in. I am glad that I had transferred the house to Hayley's name a few days ago. He told me that he is planning to turn Tyler into a hybrid seeing his experiment with me has been successful. I want you to tell tyler to stay clear of him and first sign of trouble run. No need to be a hero."

Elijah said "okay but what are you going to do?"

Klaus said while parking the car "I dont do. Go with the flow right now and see where it takes me. How is Kol doing?" as he got out of the car.

Elijah said "Good. He is picking up things. I will bring him to New Orleans's office Saturday after next. He is wiling to move in to New Orleans. I will tell him about you before we come to New Orleans. Do you want to tell him about this latest development with you?"

Klaus thought for a moment as he climbed the stairs and said "no. Not right now. Let him get used to this werewolf thing first. I have to go now."

He felt grateful for crime that kept him occupied the whole day and he was saved from the trouble of thinking about Finn.

In the afternoon after dinner when they sat down in front of the TV as Hayley put her head in his lap Klaus said "something strange happened today."

Hayley asked "what?"

Klaus said "Finn Manning came to visit me."

He continued as she sat up "somehow he knew where I live and about you and Hope. But the strange thing was that I couldn't resist him."

Hayley asked "what do you mean?"

Klaus said "I dont know. he told me to do something and even though I didnt want to, I did it."

Hayley asked still confused "what did he say to you?"

Klaus said "nothing big. First he wanted me to invite him into our house and I couldnt say no but thankfully the house is in your name so he couldn't come in and then he asked me to step out and even though I didnt want to I did."

Hayley thought for a moment and said "hmm interesting. Doesnt seem like a big deal. Question is what was he doing here?"

Klaus said "he wanted to gloat that he knows about us and to gives me heads up that he is planning to make more hybrids."

As worry started to appear on her face Klaus said "there is nothing to worry about Hayley. He cannot get in our house."

Hayley said "I know but I dont like it that he knows about us and where we live. I am not worried about you or me. It is Hope I am worried about."

Klaus felt his heart squeeze and he pulled her closer "I know but he cannot touch Hope. I will not let him touch her."

They continued to watch their show but he could feel that she was lost in her thoughts. He wanted to tell her that everything will be okay but spending these past four month with Hayley has taught him that they can handle anything if they are dealing with it together so he just held her and continued to rub her shoulder trying to convey her that he is there for her.


	24. Chapter 24 Sire bond

**_A/N: Thanks for wonderful comments. Again a really long chapter. I hope you like it. Sadly next chapter will be the last one. I will try to wrap up things in this and next chapter but like most of my stories this will be an open ended story too. _**

**_Synopsis: Klaus and Hayley struggle through the connection he has found with Finn. Finn involves Klaus more and more in supernatural world while Hayley struggle with her radiotherapy and the affect of this control on Klaus. Hayley and Caroline confront each other about KLaus._**

* * *

><p>Next afternoon after lunch as Klaus picked up his book and was about to sit on the sofa Hope came running to him and said "daddy, I want to go out."<p>

Klaus looked out at the beautiful sunny day and said "lets go" and took Hope outside. He settled down on the patio chair with his book whereas Hope went a little far and started playing with her dolls.

He kept glancing at her as she played while doing an imaginary conversation with her dolls. Klaus put the book down as he sensed someone. He looked around and saw Finn standing at a distance watching Hope. Klaus gaze instinctively went to Hope busy with her game but before he could say anything Finn said "oh dont worry. I will not harm your daughter. I need you to watch a girl for me while I am occupied with something more important."

Klaus asked "and why do you think that I would do it?"

Before Finn could say anything the patio door opened and Hayley came out causing Klaus to groan.

Hayley slid the patio door saying "Klaus…." but stopped as she saw Finn standing there. Her eyes went to Hope who was oblivious of what was happening.

She walked toward Klaus and asked "what is going on here?"

Finn looked at him for a moment and then said "It seems a demonstration is in order. hmm lets see. I want you to drink her blood" he pointed towards Hayley at the end of the sentence.

Klaus and Hayley stared at him. Klaus said "what? Are you crazy?"

Finn said carelessly "what can I say? I want to see you drink from your wife. Now get on it."

Before Hayley could do anything, she saw him walk to her as in trance. She looked at the smile on Finn's face and said "you cannot do that to him. He can die. My blood can kill him."

Finn sat on the stool and said "how so?"

Hayley said trembling with anger now "I am cancer patient and my blood is poisonous to vampires."

She saw surprise appear on Finn's face immediately replaced by indifference and he said "all the more reason for him to drink from you. Also this little demonstration will prove if it can really kill a vampire or not. For future reference for me."

Klaus could feel his heart racing and he realized that he will not be able to control it in a few seconds. His hands were itching to kill Finn but his brain was telling him to drink form Hayley.

Hayley said "Klaus no" as she felt his warm breath against her neck and his hand went around her waist.

Finn said "don't stop. You can do that."

Klaus said desperately "Hayley I cannot stop. I want to but I cannot stop."

Hayley said panicking now "Klaus no, you can hurt yourself" and tried to wiggle out of his grasp the moment she felt his teeth on her neck.

Finn said laughing now "okay okay stop. I just wanted to prove a point. You dont have to drink her blood. Stop."

Klaus let Hayley go and stumbled back gasping for breath whereas Hayley patted his back and hissed "what was the point? Just to prove that you have him under your thumb. We will find out a way to get out of this. you ass."

Finn laughed and said "I think I am starting to like you Andrea Labanoir."

Hayley and Klaus both spun toward him and asked "how do you know?"

Finn said "you thought I will not find everything about the only person in my pack?! Any way don't even think of disobeying me again. Now lets get to work."

Klaus looked at Hayley helplessly and said "I will be back in a few hours" and left.

Hayley spend next few hours worrying about Klaus and thinking how to get out of this situation. She called him a couple of times but the call went to caller ID so at last she decided to put Hope to bed and go to sleep too.

She put Hope to bed and then retreated to her room and laid down thinking about her radiotherapy the next day. She didn't know what woke her up but one look on his side of the bed told her that he was not back yet. She groaned and cursed Finn Manning. She got out of bed and went to Hope's room to check on her. When she came back she almost screamed as she saw someone sitting on the bed but then she took a sigh of relief as she realized that it was Klaus. She walked to him and asked "what happened? Why did he want you?"

Klaus said with annoyance "That ass has gotten a girl pregnant and he wanted me to babysit her because the damn witches want to kill the baby she is carrying."

Hayley asked "what? why? How? I thought vampires cannot procreate"

Klaus said "I don't know. Apparently from his wolf side he can. That means we can probably too Hayley."

Hayley looked at him and asked gingerly "you have been thinking about that too?"

Klaus held her hand, pulled her next to him and said "yes I have been. It seems that you have been thinking about it too. We both wanted to have more kids but now I have become a vampire and because of that you might never be able to conceive."

Hayley said "no, you became a half vampire and like you said if Finn can have kids then why not us. I cannot wait for us to try to have another baby after I am done with my treatment. Just three more months Klaus it will be safe for us to try for another baby."

Klaus kissed her and asked "how are you doing by the way?"

Hayley said "not bad. Now tell me about that poor girl."

Klaus sighed and said "She is just a human Hayley. Amber something. And she is carrying a supernatural child. I felt so bad for her. She must be your age."

Hayley asked "so Finn Manning cares about her?"

Klaus said "I dont know"

He pulled her towards him and said "listen about earlier. I am so sorry. I dont know what happened. I just cannot control it. I want to but I cannot control. I need to break whatever I have with him. I will talk to Marcel about it tomorrow. Right now I am so tired."

Hayley kissed him and said "it is three in the morning. No wonder you are tired. Go to sleep. I am thinking of talking to Sophie to find out if we can do something about it."

Klaus said "yes do that."

As they both settled down he leaned in, kissed her and snuggled her close to him as she slept in his arms while he stayed up thinking about this connection he has with Finn. After a while he looked at his cell and realized that an hour had gone by. He looked sideways as her hand went around him and turned towards her. He stared at her for a few minutes and then leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers making her open her eyes. When she smiled he whispered against her lips "how can you sleep so peacefully?"

She looked at him and said "because I am not as horny as you are."

Klaus laughed as he pulled her close to him and said "I think you are right. Vampires heightened your emotions right so I guess they are making me more horny for you."

She opened her mouth to say something but his lips were already moving on her neck and his hands were unhooking her bra. She sighed and gave up thinking how could she resist those lips traveling over her neck, those hands caressing her breasts and that warm breath making her lose her mind. Later when he hovered over her balancing himself on his elbows he said "I am starting to see some upsides to this new ability of mine."

Hayley smiled, traced his lips with her thumb and said "me too."

He leaned in slowly and kissed her softly before falling back on the bed and fell asleep with her in no time.

Next morning when he was putting on his shoes she asked "hey you never told me what happened to that woman; the rape victim."

Klaus said "we got the guy but the statue expired so we couldn't do anything about it but I have talked to him and he seemed to have matured up a bit in the past four years. He is willing to talk to her about their situation and about Sam. Lets hope they do something about it."

Hayley fixed her side of the bed as he helped her with the other side and said "hope things work out between them. I feel bad for that child."

Klaus said "me too."

He grabbed her from her waist, pulled her toward him and said "I wish I could stay in bed with you all day."

Hayley smiled and said "good thought but we cannot. We have a five year old who will make our lives miserable if we even think about it."

Klaus said "how about we take a vacation? Get away from all of this for a while. Call in Rebekah to babysit her while we go on the honeymoon we never had."

Hayley looked back at him and realized he was serious. She said "sure I would love it but let me get done with my radiotherapy first."

Klaus said "of course" and kissed her hard on her neck before letting her go.

At work he couldnt concentrate on his cases as the image of him about to feed on Hayley kept on haunting him. The fact that he was unable to resist Finn was torturing him to no bounds. Even Alexis noted his distraction and asked him "are you okay? You seem different ever since you have come back from Mystic Falls."

Klaus said "I am fine…" He stopped talking as his gaze fell on man bleeding through the nose dragged in by Joe. He gulped as he felt his inside tightening. He hastily looked away as he heard Alexis ask "hey Joe what happened?"

Joe said pushing the perp in front of him "this idiot decided to make a run for it by grabbing my gun _inside the station_."

Alexis laughed and said "oh that explains the blood. Carry on."

He had not realized that he was holding his breath to stop the smell of the blood that was making him lose control until he heard Alexis say "hey are you okay? You look really pale."

Klaus looked at her and saw that he had managed to break the pen he was holding in his hand. He looked at the ink on his hand and said "yes I am fine. I will be back."

He got up and went to the restroom to wash his hands.

The rest of the day went without any incidence to his relief.

In the afternoon when he left for home, he called Marcel from his car phone and told him everything about his connection with Finn. When he was done Marcel said "it seems that you are sired to him."

Klaus asked "sired to?! what does that mean?"

Marcel said "you will do everything he asks you to do even if you dont want to. It is called a sired bond. But normally sire bonds come out of deep feeling of love towards the vampire who turned you. Maybe it works differently for hybrids"

Klaus said "how do I break it? I don't want to be his lackey."

Marcel said "From my almost two hundred years of experience I have never seen anyone break sire bond. But I can look into it and get back to you about it. How are you doing with this hybrid thing by the way?"

Klaus said "okay but this sire bond is causing problem."

In the mean while Hayley was reading a book when her cell rang. She smiled as she read Alexis name on the caller Id.

She asked "hey how are you? How is your pregnancy going?"

Alexis said "oh good. I am on my 8th week. How are you? Klaus told me about your radiation. How is it going?"

Hayley said "good. Sometimes I get tired but mostly okay."

Alexis said "oh great. I want to talk to you about Klaus."

Hayley said "what?"

Klaus opened the front door and entered the house and saw her on the cell with someone. He walked to her, kissed her on her head as she signaled him that she will with him in a minute. He tipped toed to Hope sitting on the carpet playing with her tea set so engrossed that she didnt notice him enter the room and grabbed her from behind. Hope screeched and then jumped into his arms and said "daddy we made a house with play dough today. You want to see."

Klaus said "sure but let me change first."

Twenty minutes later Hayley entered Hope's room to see Klaus and Hope on the ground making balls with play dough. she said "Alexis called. She is worried about you."

He looked up as she went to sit on Hope's bed and said "why?"

Hayley said "she is noticing a change in you and was concerned if it is a werewolf issue. I tried to assure her that it was nothing but I dont think she is satisfied. Do you not plan to tell her what happened in Mystic Falls?"

Klaus said "no".

He thought about telling her about the blood incidence but then decided against it.

After dinner they both put Hope to bed, watched some tv and fell asleep after making passionate love to each other.

Next day was Saturday so they started the day a bit late. Around 11 am they did breakfast. After breakfast Hope got into his lap and said "daddy, I want to watch cartoons."

Klaus put his book down and said "okay go first clean up your room and then we will watch it. In the meantime I will help mommy clean the kitchen and then we can do the puzzle in the living room."

As Hope ran towards her room, Klaus turned to Hayley and said "you look a bit pale. Why dont you go and rest."

Hayley said "I am feeling tired but otherwise okay."

Klaus said "go and lie down. I will clean this up."

Hayley said "thanks."

She kissed him and went to the living room whereas Klaus started putting the dishes in the dishwasher thinking about her treatment and affect the radiotherapy was having on her. He sighed as he realized that sooner or later radiotherapy would have started to show affect on her body.

When he entered the living room, she was lying on the sofa with eyes closed whereas Hope was sitting near her asking "how does the giraffe sleep then?"

Hayley said "it sleep while standing up Hope."

Detecting the fatigue in her voice Klaus said "Hope, come sit with daddy. Let mommy sleep. She is tired."

Hayley opened her eyes and looked at him with gratitude and then closed her eyes gain. He spread the throw on her, kissed her forehead and said "go to sleep."

For the next hour they watched Tom and Jerry followed by a documentary on animals as Hope sat in his lap snuggled close to him chatting with him about what they were watching. While Hope was looking at tv Klaus was thinking how much his life has changed, how much he has started to care about this child and her mom. Suddenly he felt a chill shoot through his body as it hit him that it was his flesh and blood sitting in his lap. He realized with everything going on in his life he has forgotten that Hope was his biological daughter and not the adopted child they were portraying her to be. In impulse he kissed her and hugged her tight. Hope said "daddy you are hurting me."

Klaus smiled and let her go. After an hour he said "now go and play. But you have to be very quiet. Look mommy is sleeping."

As Hope ran away to her room, Klaus picked up the book and started to read but his mind was not in the book so he took out his laptop and started doing research on sire bonds but after thirty minutes he couldn't find anything so he got up and went to Hope's room thinking it was too quiet. As he entered the room he stopped when he saw Hope talking to her doll "I will take care of you Manda, I will take you to the doctor and they will make you feel better. The doctor is helping mommy too. She is getting better now."

Klaus felt his heart contract. He stood there for a moment looking at her and then said "hey what are you doing? I was thinking may be we should do some puzzles together. Want to do?"

Hope jumped up excitedly and said "yes yes."

Klaus said "okay bring it in the living room then."

Klaus smiled as he saw her excited face while she turned the puzzle box on the carpet and started putting the pieces on the carpet. After a few while he looked around and saw that Hayley was awake and was looking at them.

He asked "feeling better?"

Hayley said "yes a lot. How long have I slept?"

Klaus said "almost two hours."

Hayley said "oh. How did you manage to keep her quiet that long?"

Klaus put the puzzle piece at its place and said "we watched cartoon, then she played in her room while I did some work on laptop and then we did puzzle and now you are awake."

Klaus turned to Hope and said "it fits here."

Hope said smiling "nooo. It does not fit here."

Klaus gave her the puzzle piece and said "show me where it fits" while Hayley smiled at them as she laid on the sofa reading a book.

As Hope put the puzzle piece at its correct place she hit her hand on her forehead and said while shaking her head sounding very disappointed "you don't know anything daddy."

Klaus laughed looking at her and grabbed her from her waist, tickling her and sending her in the fits of giggles.

Hayley turned towards them and said "lunch?"

Klaus said laughing "I have my lunch right here. I am going to eat her" as he pretended to take bites on Hope.

Hope giggled louder and said "mommy, save me."

Hayley smiled and thought for a moment and then before Klaus could see what she was doing she knelt down and grabbed his chin and kissed him hard on his mouth. Klaus felt the grip on Hope loosening as he started to kiss her. Hayley continued to kiss him and when she noticed Hope sneaking out of his grasp she broke the kiss. As she leaned back and winked at him, Klaus laughed realizing what she had done. He reached out as Hayley started to get up and pulled her by her arm in his lap. He wrapped his arm around her waist and said "now you have to pay for this. You cost me my lunch. I think I am going to eat you now" and brought his lips closed to her neck.

Hayley laughed and looked at Hope who said "no dont eat mommy."

She could feel Klaus laughing silently as she felt his body shaking against her back. She controlled the moan that was about to escape her mouth as she felt his lips on her neck and caressed her neck. She poked her elbow in his ribs muttering "stop it" whereas Hope giggled and said "mommy I will help you" while Klaus whispered "why? scared that I might bite you."

Hayley smiled and said "of course not" as Hope grabbed Klaus hand and tried to free Hayley using her full power. Klaus continued to kiss her neck but his eyes went to Hope's face reflecting the struggle she was showing while she was trying to free Hayley.

Hayley felt his lips part from her neck and his free hand nudging her back. She turned to face him and followed his gaze and looked at Hope struggling to get him free and felt his hand let go of his waist and Hope screaming "mommy I freed you" and pulling her up.

She laughed and kissed her hard as she hugged Hayley and said laughing "yes you are my hero. You freed me from hungry daddy. What if he comes back for me?"

Hope said looking at Klaus who was sitting on the carpet looking at them "I will save you. You go. I will stop him."

She pushed Hayley away and jumped on Klaus.

Klaus felt her tiny body's impact on him and fell laughing while Hayley walked towards the kitchen after watching them; her sitting on his stomach and him lying on the carpet.

Hayley was in the kitchen fixing lunch when she heard Klaus's frustrated voice "Hayley I have to go. Finn Manning called and he wants to see me."

Hayley looked at him and asked "Klaus what is going on? Do something about it. I dont like it."

Klaus said "I don't know love. I am unable to say no to him. Any way I have to go."

Thirty minutes later Klaus entered Rousseau and walked to Finn angrily and said "I was with my family."

Finn asked "why do you need to work?"

Klaus asked confused now "what?"

Finn said "you are a detective. I asked why do you need to work?"

Klaus asked annoyed now "what the hell that means?"

Finn said "you are a millionaire. You dont need to work so why are you working as a _cop?_"

Klaus said "I love my job and if you have just asked me here to chit chat then I am off."

As he was walking away he stopped when he heard Finn say "what? who did that?"

Klaus looked towards Finn as his expressions changed. He said "I will be right there."

He put the cell in his pocket and said "you, come with me."

Klaus opened his mouth to say no but then followed him.

For the next hour Klaus watched as Finn tracked down Sophie Deveraux and from the intel she provided him he found a witch named Anges. He stood in the church looking at Finn holding Anges from her neck and hissing "no one hurts my family".

During the past one hour he had gotten the hang of the situation and for the first time after ever meeting Finn he could understand what Finn must be going through and felt like helping him and that was not fitting well with him. As he looked at Finn he heard an authoritative voice saying "Finn. Let her go. I promised Sophie Deveraux that I will not let you hurt Anges."

Klaus looked from the elegantly dressed man to Finn who said "brother, you make promises at very inappropriate times."

He let Anges go but as Klaus took a breath of relief he heard Finn's bother say "I promised that I will not let her die at your hand but I didn't promise anything about me."

Before Klaus could react he had jabbed hearts out of the two men standing on either side of him and was heading towards Anges.

Klaus hastily said "wait, you cannot kill them. They are human."

He looked at Klaus and said "you must be the hybrid detective my brother is so proud of. I suggest you don't interfere in supernatural business."

He walked to Anges and grabbed her by her neck while Klaus looked at Finn who had weird smile on his face. The other man said "no one hurts my family and live to tell." and snapped Agnes's neck.

Klaus looked at Finn who was looking really proud. Finn said "Klaus Mikaelson Jacob my brother. This is the first lesson you need to learn. Family above all."

He saw Jacob walking away from them and said "you guys cannot just kill people."

Finn turned to Klaus and said "you will not tell anyone about what happened here. Now go."

During the drive to home he wondered was he wiling to help Finn because of sire bond or because he felt his pain considering he is a father too. He hit his hand on the steering wheel cursing the sire bond. When he got home it was afternoon and Hope was busy doing coloring while Hayley was lying on the sofa reading a book. As he entered the living room she asked him "so why did he call you?"

Klaus looked at her and even though he wanted to tell her but he couldnt that just infuriated him to no bound. He said after a few moments "he wants to bond with me."

Hayley said "what?"

Klaus said "yes. We just talked. For a minute it seemed that he wants to get to know me as in be friends with me."

Hayley looked at him and said "hmm. I dont like it."

Klaus said "and another thing. I met Finn Manning's brother today. Jacob."

Hayley asked "what is he like?

Klaus said "sneaky. Different from Finn but I only saw him for a few minutes so cannot tell much."

He saw her yawning and asked "you still feeling tired?"

Hayley said "yes. I was thinking of taking an early night. It is six now. Can you put Hope to bed when it is time for her to sleep?"

Klaus nodded and kissed her as she retreated to the room.

As Hayley settled down in her bed he entered the room and said "I am taking Hope to the park. Will be back in an hour. Will you be okay?"

Hayley said "yes" as she closed her eyes.

She opened her eyes and smiled as she felt his soft lips on hers and said "I love you Klaus."

He said as he patted her shoulder over the duvet "me too. Now go to sleep. We will be back in an hour."

When she woke up again, it was morning and she could feel his arm around her waist. She turned to him, smiled at his peaceful face and wrapped her arm around him and relaxed as she felt him shift in his sleep and wrapped his arm around her tighter and continued to sleep.

He felt soft lips on his lips, opened his eyes and asked lazily "how are you feeling?"

Hayley smiled and said "well rested and that is why I am going to meet Sophie. You are home so you can take care of her. I will be back in two hours max."

Klaus said "Hayley just be careful."

Hayley slipped her hand under his shirt saying "I will be."

Klaus smiled as he felt his her hand on his hips and sneaked his hand under her shirt and squeezed her breasts but then groaned as they heard a knock on the door. She pushed him away from him saying "well you wanted to have her in your life."

Klaus said "and I dont regret a single day since I made that decision."

Hayley said "I cannot believe it how far we have come from where we were 6 months ago" as she headed towards the door and opened it to let Hope in.

Hope ran to the bed, jumped on the bed and got under the covers snuggling close to Klaus.

Hayley smiled as she looked at Hope and Klaus and said "I am going to take shower."

Around noon Hayley was standing in Sophie's kitchen and was saying to Sophie "there must be some way to break that bond. He is controlling Klaus."

Sophie said "Hayley, I will look for it because I dont know from the top of my head."

Hayley said "Klaus can break it Sophie. Just find out how to break it."

They both turned towards the door as they heard a very polished voice saying "if only it were that easy."

Hayley looked at the man dressed in black immaculate dress and asked "who are you?"

He looked at her form head to toe and said "Jacob Manning.

His eyes narrowed as he saw her expression change to confusion.

Hayley asked "so you are Finn Manning's brother."

Jacob said "yes the only one Finn. What has he done now?"

Hayley turned away from him and said to Sophie "listen i have to go now. Please find out how to break that sire bond. Klaus and I are willing to do anything to break it."

She gave Jacob one steely look and left.

Rest of the day they spend at home playing with Hope, doing house chores and just relaxing.

After dinner Klaus and she put Hope to bed and then came back to kitchen to clean up. Klaus handed her the dirty plates and Hope was gone from the dinning room Hayley said to Klaus "I met Jacob Manning today."

Klaus asked "where?"

Hayley said going to the kitchen "while I was talking to Sophie he walked in. It seems that his brother is a trouble Klaus. The way he asked me what has he done now. This is not the first time Finn has done something questionable."

Klaus said with exasperation "tell me about it. He is trouble. Trouble with capital T. I want to break this sire bond with him. Did Sophie tell you anything?"

Hayley said "no. But she said she will look into it. I was thinking we should contact Mason. Maybe he can help."

Klaus said putting the leftovers in the fridge "I have already talked to Mason. He is working on it. I called Stefan today too but could get hold of him. Will try again. Elijah called today. He and Mason told Kol about our curse. As per Elijah he didnt take it well but Elijah is keeping an eye on him."

Hayley asked "what do you mean not taking well?"

Klaus said "he is showing a lot of resentment and Elijah is afraid that he might do something to hurt someone and trigger his gene in the process. Now we are all questioning whether it was a good idea to tell him or not."

Hayley asked "and what about Rebekah?"

Klaus shook his head and said "no. We have decided not to tell her after what happened with Kol. Any way right now our biggest problem is Finn and how to keep this connection with him in check."

Hayley sighed and closed the dishwasher and took out a glass from the cupboard to drink water but it slipped from her hand and landed in the sick breaking into pieces.

Klaus turned to her asking "hey you okay" and then he spotted the blood on her finger and stepped back as the smell of blood hit his nostrils. She turned to him and said hastily "no dont. Go" but his veins were already coming out under his eyes.

He could feel his fangs coming out. Hayley looked at her hand which was bleeding and hastily took out the towel and pressed on it saying "Klaus go."

Klaus looked at her face as in daze and then came out of trance as she pushed him away and left the kitchen. Hayley hurriedly cleaned the glass up and then put the bandage on the cut on her hand and then went to their room. She found him pacing in the room and asked tentatively "hey you are okay?"

Klaus said in agitation "stay away from me Hayley. I can smell blood."

Hayley said "how long have you not had blood?"

Klaus held his head and said "a week"

Hayley said in an angry tone "Klaus you cannot go without blood for that long. You have to drink it. I will bring it for you."

Klaus said "no, _stay._ I will get it."

Hayley stood in front of the vanity in the bathroom and was brushing her teeth when she started to feel dizzy. She hurried up, changed her clothes and walked out holding the door.

Klaus entered the room feeling much better when he saw her kneels buckle. He whooshed to her and hod her in his arms and asked "hey you okay?"

Hayley said "wow that was very superman like. I just feel tired. I thinking I am going to bed."

Klaus put her on the bed and pulled the duvet on her and said "you should rest. I will turn in a bit later."

As he started to move away from her Hayley said "dont go. Stay."

Klaus said "Hayley I might hurt you."

Hayley said "you will not Klaus. Please stay."

Klaus sighed and picked up the book to read while she drifted off to sleep holding his hand.

Monday morning when she woke up he was not in bed and it was already seven thirty in the morning. She sighed and cursed her radiotherapy that had been making her fatigued for the past few days and making her sleep early and getting up after he got up. She got out of bed, took a quick warm shower washing the fatigue off of her knowing well that he has to leave for work. She quickly brushed her hair and suddenly felt glad when none of the strands came lose. She left the room and walked into the living room saying "Klaus I… " and stopped as she saw him looking at something. She walked to him and asked"what is it?"

She noticed him putting the papers back in the envelop and asked again "what is it?"

When he shook his head she knew something was not right. She took the envelop form his hand before he could do anything else and said "show me."

As she opened the envelop she saw a picture of her and Elijah, smiling and looking at each other.

She looked at him and asked with sinking heart "Klaus what is this? Who send these to you?"

She then ideally flipped the picture and felt the ground slip from under her feet and at the same time she started to see stars when she read the words _"how could you believe that she will not fall for you elegant brother?!"_

Hayley said incredulously "you don't believe it right?! Elijah is like my brother."

Klaus asked "then tell me why have you been two acting weird around each other?"

Hayley looked at him and then before she could control her actions or words, her hand swung in the air and landed on his cheek with a smack. She hissed "what?! I cannot believe it. He is _your_ brother and I am _your_ wife. _Now you see what I mean about that bitch._"

Before Klaus could respond she turned and left him standing there. She stood in the bathroom for a moment trying to calm herself down and then splashed water on her face and left the bathroom. She headed to Hope's room, saw that she was already dressed up so she said "lets go Hope" and ignoring his "Hayley" left the house.

After driving aimlessly for half an hour steaming in anger she looked back at Hope and decided to take her to the library. They spend next hour in library but Hayley couldnt shake off that picture and the accusation in his tone from her mind and that was just draining her already fatigued mind. After library Hope asked her to take her to the park so she took her to the park. As she was sitting in the park her cell rang. She picked up the cell after reading Sophie's name on the caller ID. She said "hello."

Sophie said "Hayley I am going to the bar. I have found an ancient history book about sire bonds. Maybe you can find something in it."

Hayley got up excitedly and said "oh really. I can come and look at it right now…."

She paused as a thought occurred to her and looked at Hope playing in swings and said "I have my daughter with me. Is your kitchen safe?"

Sophie said "yes. Come from the back side of the bar. No one will come here."

Thirty minutes later Hayley was sitting in Sophie's kitchen pondering over the ancient book that Sophie had given her while Hope read the book she had gotten from the library.

While Hayley was busy with trying to find a way to deal with this sire bond, Klaus tired to occupy himself with the paperwork on the case they had wrapped up on Friday but his mind kept going to how Hayley had reacted and the more he thought about it them ore he questioned why would Caroline send him pictures of her and Elijah. To hurt him? but why would she want to hurt him or is it to hurt his relationship with Hayley and Elijah. Then he recalled her message to him and he cursed himself for not seeing things clearly. He tore that picture and threw it in the dustbin.

Half an hour later she looked up and said as she closed the book "As per this the connection is formed out of love but Klaus does not love Finn so what is it based on then?"

Sophie said "I wish I could help you Hayley."

Hayley continued reading from the book "vampire sire bonds are based on love and is possibly broken when they have nothing to love anymore, i.e. switching off their humanity." She looked up and said "There is mention of someone named by Charlotte who was sired to some vampire. How can I find out who she was sired to?

Sophie said "I can find out about this Charlotte and will let you know about her.

Hayley said "thanks Sophie"

She then looked at Hope and said "lets go sweetie" but before she turned towards the door, it opened and a young girl entered the kitchen looking angry.

She stopped when she saw Hayley but then looked at Sophie and said "If you ever do that again I will kill you with my own hand. You are not link to me anymore."

Hayley looked at the girl in surprise and then looked at Hope who was looking at them. The girl was about to turn when her gaze fell on Hope and she stopped and walked towards her. Hayley hastily walked to Hope but before she could say anything the girl said "is this your daughter?"

Hayley said "yes, who are you?"

The girl continued to look at Hope and then Hayley noticed her putting her hand on her stomach and say "Amber Moore."

Before she could stop herself the words were out of her mouth "you are the girl Finn Manning got pregnant."

Amber asked "and you are?"

Hayley paused for a second and then said "Hayley Mikaelson. You might know my husband Klaus Mikaelson."

Amber nodded "yes I know him. I didnt know he was married and had a child."

Hayley said bitterly "well if Finn keep him as his personal servant then he might not stay that way for long."

Leaving Amber bewildered she turned to Sophie and said "I forgot I want to find out about the curse your ancestor put on Crescent pack"

Sophie said "you know I am a witch right? I know why you are asking about that Hayley. I can help you with it provided you help me with something."

Hayley asked "what?"

Sophie said "I will tell you some other time."

Hayley looked at Amber and said "I wish we had met in better circumstances" and then turned to Hope saying "lets go sweetie" and left.

By the time she reached home Klaus was not home. She fed Hope lunch and occupied her and then busied herself with cooking dinner. After making dinner she settled down with a book in Hope's room while she played with her toys. After a while she realized that the book was not helping her to calm down as she was unable to rid her mind of what Klaus had accused him of and how Caroline has once again managed to come between them. She decided to think about something else and wondered who Charlotte was and at last she saw some hope.

In the afternoon when Klaus came home he noticed that she was still in a bad moon. Klaus tried to talk to her while dinner and putting Hope to bed but she never encourage it. As she laid down on the bed to sleep later that night, Klaus said "I am sorry Hayley. I have been thinking and I think you were right about Caroline. I dont know why I didnt see it before. Perhaps I saw it and never wanted to accept it but now I see it and believe me I will talk to her about it and she will never come between us."

Hayley looked at him and said "good" and turned away from him. He thought about what he had said to her about Elijah and said "I am sorry about Elijah too. I shouldn't have doubted it. I dont know why I said that."

Hayley, heartbroken, said shaking her head "no, you cannot get away from that one so easily. I cannot believe that you would think that I will have an affair with your brother! I need some time to process this Klaus. Give me some time."

She turned away from him and closed his eyes.

He could hear her heartbeat and knew that she was awake but he realized that she was right and she deserved to have some space so he laid on the bed and drifted of to sleep after a few minutes.

Next morning when Hayley woke up, the first thing she noticed was his hand over her waist. She felt like removing it but she let it there and closed her eyes again.

Klaus opened his eyes and saw his hand on her waist and wondered 'has she forgiven him?' but before he could form an answer in his mind, she said "don't think I have forgiven you."

Klaus said "I know and I am sorry about doubting you" but didnt retrieve his hand.

Hayley looked at the sincerity in his eyes but removed his hand gently and got out of the bed.

The next two days Hayley was very cold towards him but slowly and gradually the ice between them was melting but not as fast as he had hoped for.

Third day after their argument, Klaus got ready very early in the morning and and left for work. As soon as he entered the squad room, they were called in on a case. Ten minutes later he was standing in front of a grieving man dressed in tuxedo telling him about how his bride to be was murdered right in front of his eyes on their wedding day and he only managed to get away with just a scrape on his head. As he was questioning him and giving him hope that they will catch the killer, his cell rang.

Ten minutes later he entered the station and went straight to Ben's office with Alexis. Five minutes later eh steamed out of there saying angrily "what the hell! We were pulled off from that case to provide protection detail to a person who should be dead not protected…. I promised that man that I will get his fiancé murderer Alexis"

Before Alexis could reply his cell rang. He picked up his cell as it rang and said "hello Hayley can it wait…"

Alexis who was already looking at him noticed a change in his expressions as he stood up. She stared at him wondering what is going on when he put the cell in his pocket and said "I have to go. Hope fell form her bike and she is in hospital."

Alexis said sounding worried now "Oh I hope she is okay. Call me and tell me what happened."

By the time he entered the hospital twenty minutes later he felt as if his heart was pumping out of his heart. After asking directions to her room he darted to it.

Hayley was sitting on her bedside holding her hand. She heard a sound, turned around and saw him standing there.

He felt air sucked out of his lungs as he saw a big red purple bruise on the left side of her temporal lobe and a slight bruise on the right side.

He looked at Hayley and asked her "what happened?"

Hayley said sounding worried "a cyclist hit her and she fell down and her head it the concrete. Thanks god she was wearing the helmet. But she lost consciousness so I called 911. They say that there is some swelling in her brain and they dont know when will it stop. Right now they are just keeping her in observation."

Klaus said immediately "Hayley I can heal her."

Hayley said hastily "No Klaus. let the doctors handle it but if they cannot then you can."

He looked around and said anxiously "let me go talk to the doctors."

She nodded and went to sit with Hope again. As she looked at her hooked onto tubes, each and every moment of her young life flashed through her mind bringing tears to her eyes. From the moment she held her the first, to when she started teething, to when she started walking, said her first word, got injured the first time, started cycling, started writing, arguing for her rights even at this tender age, finding out her father, bonding with him, accepting him in her life, trying to cope with her mother's illness and now this.

Klaus entered the room and saw her lost in thoughts. He walked to her and put his hand on her shoulder startling her. She hastily wiped her tears before turning to him. He wrapped his arms around her instinctively and realized that she was shaking. He said "Hayley you don't have to brave in front of me. We are in this together."

She hugged him tight and said "Klaus I cannot lose her. I cannot. If something happens to her I don't know what I will do."

Klaus held her tight and said "everything will be okay Hayley. Worse comes to worse I will give her my blood."

She whispered "Klaus, what if she dies with you blood in her system."

She felt his hold around her tightening.

He said "nothing will happen to her Hayley. I wouldnt let it."

She said into his chest "thanks for being here but if you have to go I understand."

Klaus said "no I am fine. Alexis will cover for me" patting her back.

While they stood in each other's arm his cell rang. He picked it up wondering who it was. He groaned when he heard a british authoritative voice "Come to saint Ann's church"

He opened his mouth to say no but the words that came out were "in twenty minutes."

Klaus put the cell down and then looked at Hayley and said angrily "that damn Finn asked me to come and I couldn't say no. I couldn't say simple No. I hate this sire bond."

Hayley asked looking at Hope "have you talked to Marcel about it?"

Klaus said "yes I have. He said he will get back to me but has not yet. but I will. Let Hope get better. I am sorry love, I have to go."

Klaus said angrily as he entered the church "Finn you cannot just ask me to leave everything and come…"

But Finn cut him off by saying "sure I can. I wanted you to attend the meeting with human faction seeing you are the only person in my army."

Klaus glared at Finn angrily and said in frustration "why do I have to go with you? It is your meeting and I have never met human faction."

Finn said "well it is about time."

He opened his mouth to say something when a few men entered the church. One look at their clothes and he knew that they were human faction. After the initial introduction with them he found out that they were mayor, Sheriff and a lawyer with them. He looked at another man dressed in priest clothes and recalled what Marcel had told him about Kieran being a priest.

Klaus stood there silently listening to Kieran, the mayor, Sheriff talking to Finn and Marcel.

As the conversation progressed he could see that thing going south in no time and when the Sheriff said "look, you _freaks_ do your thing and we will look the other way." he groaned. Even he realized that was uncalled for. He looked at Finn who was looking at Marcel with incredulous expressions.

He looked at Kieran who was looking anxious and clearly could see what Klaus himself was saying so he took a sigh of relief as Kieran said "More importantly, there are rules. No feeding on the locals. Don't bring any unwanted attention to the city. History has proven that we can co-exist peacefully. However if you cross the line...

He groaned as the Sheriff interrupted by saying "you answer to us."

Finn laughed and said "let me get this straight. I am to answer to you, this pompous ass and his ridiculous group of petty thieves? Here are my terms. You will take whatever scape I see fit to leave you and you will be grateful. It that does not suit you, I may decide you have outlived your usefulness."

As he walked out of church Klaus said "I cannot believe that you threatened them."

Finn said carelessly "no one talks to me like that pompous ass was talking to me. Lets go have drink."

Klaus wanted to say no as he felt like going to check on Hope but the words that came out of his mouth were "okay."

Finn sensed his hesitance but didnt say anything.

As they sat in the bar drinking Klaus took out his cell and dialed Hayley's number and asked "how is she doing?"

Hayley said "still the same. What is going on with you?" her tone changing to agitation by the end of sentence.

Klaus said "I will tell you when I get back Hayley" and put the cell down.

He looked at Finn who was drinking with his head down. He said to Marcel "Kieran was trying to maintain peace between supernatural and human."

Marcel nodded and turned to Finn and said "what do you think? What will they come up with?"

Finn said "lets wait and see what happens."

Klaus looked at his wrist watch and thought about Hope again and said to Finn "I am…" but there was a huge explosion and if Finn ha into pulled him down he would have gotten hurt. There were a lot of screaming before everything calmed down.

He looked at Marcel in horror as he body caught fire and Finn trying to extinguish the fire. Finn stood up angrily and looked around whereas Marcel said "this is on you."

Finn hissed "they will have to pay for this."

Klaus got up, looked at his hand and saw it healing and then at Finn who looked like as if steaming in anger. He shook his head and said "bloody hell. What the hell is going on?"

Finn said "what happened was that human faction took matters into their hand. Now it is our turn. I am going to teach them a lesson when someone crosses Finn Manning path."

Klaus looked at Finn and knew what he was talking about "you cannot. They are human."

Finn looked at him angrily and said "you need to get your hand dirty now that you are a vampire. I think you first lesson starts today."

Klaus at once said "no, I cannot do this any more. My daughter is hurt and I am going."

He expected Finn to stop him but when he didnt he turned towards him and asked "what are you going to do to human faction?"

Finn said menacingly "you really dont want to know."

Klaus stared at him and said "Finn You cannot kill them they are human."

Finn said angrily "and they are allowed to kill us?! Being a vampire does not mean that they can kill us."

Klaus looked at him for a moment when Finn said "you need to leave."

Even though a part of his mind was telling him to stay but the other part on which he had no control over was telling him to listen to Finn.

Later that night when he was lying on the couch in the hospital, looking at Hayley and Hope and wondering '_it is true then. Kids do help patching up relationships!'_ as he reflected on their interaction throughout the day and realized that in light of Hope's injury she had put her anger at him at back of her mind or decided to forgive him. He started to feel guilty at how he had left Hope and her alone and went to see that Finn and his atrocious behavior with human faction but thanked his luck that at last he was able to stand up to him. As the realization hit him he sat up wondering '_he had refused to listen to Finn because of Hope so may be he can do it again. He can have a life.' _He got up and started pacing in the room.

Hayley was deep in sleep curled up next to Hope when she heard a sound that woke her up. She saw him pacing in the room. She walked to him and asked in a soft voice "what is going on?"

Klaus said "I think I can fight it. I stood up to Finn because I wanted to come to Hope. I think I can fight it."

She slipped her hand into his hand and asked "what are we going to do if she does not wake up Klaus?"

Klaus said "she will. She will wake up Hayley."

He pulled her in an embrace and led her to the sofa and laid down with her on the sofa with his arm around her. Soon she fell asleep in his arms while he stayed up looking at Hope for a while and then drifted off to sleep too. Next time when his eyes opened the sunlight was peeking in through the window. He looked at Hope who was still asleep and then he sat up abruptly as he noticed her finger stirring. Hayley startled by the sudden movement, opened her eyes and asked groggily "what happened?"

and then followed his gaze with sinking heart. A smile broke on her face as she saw Hope looking at them. They both hurried towards her and she asked "hey honey. How are you feeling?"

Hope said "mommy."

Klaus asked "can you hear me?"

Hope said "daddy."

Klaus laughed and asked "what is your name?"

Hope said "Hope Mikaelson."

Klaus laughed again with relief and hugged her, kissing her head wrapping an arm around Hayley bringing her in the group hug too.

Klaus at once noticed something and looked at Hayley who was looking at him too. She said angrily "did you? I told you not too."

Klaus said "no Hayley I didnt. I was with you all night. I swear I didnt."

Hayley looked at her face and asked "then how Klaus? How will we explain how her injury went away."

Klaus said still confused "I have no idea Hayley."

He got up and said "no one knew she is hurt except for you, me, Alexis…." he stopped talking.

Hayley looked at him and asked "what?"

Klaus said "I told Finn that she was hurt but he wouldnt. Why would he?"

Hayley said "you mean to tell me you think Finn Manning who is controlling you just healed our daughter?"

Klaus shook his head and said "no I dont think so. I dont expect him to do this. He is … did he? I will kill him if he did this."

They both looked towards the door as the door opened and a doctor walked in. He looked at Hope and said "hello my name is Dr Sanders. Dr Jim called in sick and he wanted me to look at you. Well I don't see any injury. That is strange. You chart says that you were bruised but you don't seem to be."

Hayley looked at Klaus in alarm and signaled him.

Klaus raced his mind for some excuse and then walked to he doctor and said looking into his eyes "Dr Sanders, you don't know anything about her injury recovering. You can still see the bruising."

Dr Sanders's stared at him for a moment and then blinked and said "oh right. So it seems that you are recovering."

He walked to Hope and said "I am going to touch you here. Tell me if it hurts or not."

Hope shook her head and said "mommy I am hungry."

Klaus asked the doctor "is she okay to go home."

Dr Sanders said "she looks fine. Let me see do some test and then she can go home."

After settling Hope down Klaus said "I have to go to work and then later I will go to the compound to find out if Finn has anything to do with it."

Hayley said "doesn't matter Klaus but I dont like that we have to feel obliged to him for what he did for Hope."

Klaus looked at her and said "no. that will not happen."

He suddenly felt angry and said "if he had done it on purpose so that I will become loyal to him then he is wrong. I will not be his lackey much longer" and stormed out of house.

By the time he left the station it was so late that he decided to postpones visiting Finn and went home. Hayley had put Hope to bed and was laying down the table. In the meanwhile Klaus went to check on Hope. He kissed her forehead, fixed her blanket and left the room quietly. He looked at Hayley as they ate their food and said "you know I have been thinking. If these incidence like my becoming an hybrid or Hope getting injured had not happened our relationship wouldnt have been tested. I am glad that they happened and proved to us that we can get through anything."

Hayley looked at him and smiled and said "you should be happy that you got off that easily. Next time might not be that easy."

Klaus said "I know. I should thank Hope for falling down because I was sure this time you will not forgive that easily."

She looked at him and smiled. That night when Klaus made love to her she knew he was right about them getting through anything as a team.

Friday afternoon he entered the house feeling excited after many days. He smiled as Hope came running to his him. He scooped her up and said "how about daddy and you have a movie night tonight."

Hope said excitedly "yesss."

He kissed her and carried her to the kitchen from where he could smell something nice being cooked. He walked to the chair, sat down with Hope on his knees and asked "how was your radiation?"

Hayley said "good. I felt a bit tired afterwards but now I am fine."

Klaus said "oh. Were you okay while driving home?"

Hayley said "oh yeah that was not a problem. Anyway it is weekend. Time to recuperate. I will get some rest over it."

Klaus put Hope down on the floor and said "so what are we having for dinner?"

He walked to her as Hope ran away from there, leaned in and put his hand on her waist making her jump. She smiled, leaned back against his chest and said "lasagna. Hey what are you planning with Hope? Have you forgotten it is full moon tonight?"

Klaus said against her ear "no I have not forgotten" while continuing holding her from her waist "the upside of being a hybrid. I dont have to change tonight. I can change on will."

Hayley spun towards him and asked "what?"

He smiled and said "Finn Manning told me a few days ago. I didnt believe it at first but Marcel confirmed it for me today."

Hayley jumped up excitedly, turned to him and kissed him smack on his lips saying "oh god this is wonderful."

Klaus laughed at her excitement and said "yes at least something good came out of all of this well apart from the other thing." He added with a twinkle making Hayley laugh. He continued " So I was thinking if you want to go and meet your pack you can. I will stay with Hope."

Hayley looked at him and asked excitedly "really?! Can you?"

Klaus asked with amusement "you wanted to meet them? Why didnt you tell me?"

Hayley said "I have been seeing them but not as much as I want to with everything going on it was difficult for me to go and meet them."

Klaus said "yes do go. Hope and I will have fun tonight." He turned to leave but stopped and said "just remember that you love me while being with _Jackson._"

Hayley threw the hand towel at him saying "ha ha."

She turned back to her cooking with a smile on her face while Klaus went upstairs to their room to change.

When Hayley entered her room around 4 in the morning feeling a bit tired, she smiled as she saw Hope snuggled close to Klaus fast in sleep. She changed her clothes and went to sleep too.

Her eyes opened as a soft hand fell on her face. She looked at Hope sleep in their middle. She looked at Klaus's peaceful face and then picked up Hope and carried her to her room. As she got back under the covers he grabbed her from her waist and said "read my mind. did you?"

Hayley said "now dont go and take credit for this one."

Klaus pulled her shirt up and said "so how was Jackson?"

Hayley said "he was wonderful. We had a great time. You cannot believe it… ahhh Klaus" as his lips caught her nipple and kissed it. He looked up and said "you were saying…"

Hayley smiled and said "I was telling you how wonderful _my fiancé_ is" and cupped his face and kissed his lips as his hands slipped down and pulled her pajamas down and continued "how much my life would have been better if I …had met… oh god Klaus stop" as his hand toyed with in between her legs. He smiled and said "why should I stop it? You think you are the only one who can tease?"

Hayley panted as his lips found her breast again "who said I am teasing? I am… very serious."

Klaus said replacing his lips by his hands "ouch that hurts"

Hayley said "then don't ask me about him next time" as she brought his face close to him and planted a kiss on his lips, parted his lips with her tongue and explored his mouth and let her hand take off his shirt.

And when he took her after rolling over and exploring each others body for a while he had forgotten about Jackson and she knew she couldnt even dream of anyone except for him to make love to.

He pulled her in his arms, covered her with the duvet and asked "so now a serious question. How is your pack?"

Hayley said "good. I really want to break the curse. I talked to Sophie about it a few days ago. She said that she will get back to me about it but she has not. Hey did I tell you that I met Amber the other day."

Klaus said "where?"

Hayley said "when I was with Sophie trying to figure out how to break the sire bond. But the only person we found was a vampire named Charlotte but no one knows who she was sired to. Sophie said she will find out about her and get back to me. Still has not."

Klaus said "how did I miss all of this."

Hayley said "it was when we were having that issue about Caroline and Elijah."

Klaus said "ahh. I remember now. So you hid all of this from me because you didnt feel like talking to me."

Hayley turned away from him bringing his arm around her waist and said "yep" and closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep against the warmth of the his body.

Klaus was sitting at his desk thinking about what Hayley had said about breaking the curse. He realized that with everything going on he had forgotten that if Hayley triggers her gene then she will be affected by the cruse too and wondered '_what will happen to Hope if something happens to her'_. He thought about it for a moment and then he picked up his cell and dialed Marcel's number. As soon as the call connected "Marcel I want to break the curse on the Crescent pack"

Marcel said "you cannot break the curse Klaus. It will bring chaos."

Klaus said "I know why you put the curse Marcel and I don't know what to say except for it is not fair to the whole pack to pay the price for a few. More importantly Hayley can trigger her gene by accident and if that curse remains in affective then she will be affected too and so will Hope be. I will go over you if I have to break the curse but I would prefer if you help me break it. I need to find everything about Brynne Deveraux- about the spell she put on them."

Marcel sighed and said "okay I will look into it" and disconnected the call.

Two days after the full moon after work, he parked the car outside his house and got out of his car and headed towards the front door when he stopped as he spotted Caroline sitting on the steps. He asked "why are you here Caroline and how do you where to find me?"

Caroline said with a smile as she walked towards him "I went to your apartment and found out that you have left so my next stop obviously is this place. I know this place. Remember that time when you apartment was being fumigated and we had to stay here."

Klaus sighed and said "Caroline I wanted to talk to you about us. I have realized that Hayley is right; that you have not let go of me. But this is not healthy. I am married and I am happily in love with my wife. I know I hurt you a lot and for that I am really sorry but you have to stop this. Leaving messages to me and then what happened in Mystic Fall. I distantly remember telling you that you should come after 7 and you knew what I do for unwinding and you decided to come before 7. I hate to admit it but I can see you doing it on purpose and that is just too unbelievable."

Caroline said "I am sorry Klaus. I don't even remember the message I left you. Honestly I don't know what you are talking about. I never did anything to Hayley or said anything to her. She is lying. You know I dont lie. I do love you and I tried to move on and honestly I was trying but now that fate has give me another chance."

Klaus looked at her in confusion and asked "what chance?"

Caroline smiled and said "you being a part vampire Klaus."

Klaus looked at her for a moment without saying anything and then said "no Caroline. I am married to Hayley."

Caroline said "but the reason you broke up with me was that you thought wolves and vampires are mortal enemies Klaus so what is the problem now? You are a vampires, I am a vampire. Why would you not reconsider it."

Klaus looked at her for a while and said "Caroline, it will be best if you leave. I think we are done. I honestly thought that we can handle this but I think I am done trying. I am sorry about that."

He left her standing there and went back inside.

Caroline followed him but stopped as she felt a barrier and groaned.

She sat on the footstep wondering '_what to do next.' _

Hayley looked at Hope from the rare view mirror while pulling the car in the driveway and asked "did you have fun in the zoo Hope?"

Hope said "yes. thank you mommy."

Hayley smiled and said "your welcome baby" and then groaned as she saw Caroline sitting at the footstep of the house. She took Hope out of the carseat and said to Hope "Hope honey you go inside. I will be right in."

She opened the door ignoring Caroline and let Hope in. After closing the door behind Hope she turned to Caroline and asked "what the hell are you doing here?"

Caroline said "waiting for Nikky. He said he will be down in a minute. I see that he put the house in your name."

Hayley felt her heart sink but said "I dont believe you. Klaus will never cheat on me."

Caroline said "oh but he is."

Klaus came out of the bathroom, saw Hope sitting on the floor playing with her puzzle and wondered _'where was Hayley?' _when he heard Caroline say "You are luck you know. I don't know how you managed to make him believe in you? What is your trick tramp? First you got him to ask you to marry you after things went south with Mikeal and then you managed to give _your_ daughter his name and now you have gotten him in your control so much so that he does not believe anyone. You have come between him and his family. Do you realize that?"

Hayley started to say something angrily but then sighed and said "Caroline, get a life."

Caroline smiled and said "I am getting one Hayley. Just wait and see. Nikky will be mine."

Hayley snapped "it is Klaus or Nik or Niklaus not _Nikky_. Stop calling him that."

Caroline laughed and said "oh so you are jealous. Good to see that. Now you will understand what I went through when he left me for you."

Hayley stared at Caroline and said "I cannot believe that Klaus fell for you. You are a bitch."

Caroline said with contempt "not _fell_. He still loves me. I will get him back Hayley. He broke up with me because he thought I am immortal and he is mortal but look what has happened. He is immortal too."

Hayley said feeling frustrated "Are you crazy Caroline? We are married. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Caroline said with a satisfied smile on her face "I can do anything for Nikky Hayley. Finn was there for Klaus Hayley. I knew Finn wanted to make hybrids so I suggested Klaus. Why do you think he never went for Tyler? I was going to make sure that Klaus entered the room somehow but I got lucky and he decided to go on his own. Klaus was always supposed to be the one who was going to be the hybrid. You see Finn would do anything for me. I told him…" but before she could finish her sentence a fist landed on her face immediately followed by someone grabbing her by her throat. Caroline was so taken aback by that attack that she was unable to say anything.

Hayley hissed "Caroline enough is enough. I am not a violent person but you have just crossed a line. Let me tell you if you ever come after _my_ family again and that includes Klaus I will make you pay for it. I am a cancer patient and my blood is poisonous to vampire. If you don't stay away from Klaus, I will feed you my blood. _Do you get it?_"

Caroline tried to say something but her arm was very tightly wound around her neck and the only sound that could come out was a gurgle. Hayley thought for a moment and then closed her eyes, thought about Hope and Klaus and the danger that Caroline has just put him through and jerked her arm causing Caroline's neck to snap. She brushed her hand and to her shock realized that she felt no remorse and went inside without realizing that someone was listening and watching them from the upstairs master bedroom window with shock and anger.


	25. Chapter 25 Fight for control part 1

**_A/N: This is the last chapter. It has gotten really long so I am posting it in two parts. I hope you enjoy it._**

**_Synopsis: Kol moves to NOLA while Klaus and Hayley try to find control as Finn's start to interfere in their life more and more. Hayley and Klaus find out how to break the curse on Crescent wolves. _**

* * *

><p>Hayley closed the door behind her and took deep breaths to calm herself down as she realized what she had done to Caroline and what Caroline had done to Klaus. Suddenly it hit her what she has done and a chill ran through her body and she yelled "Klaus".<p>

Klaus had moved away from the window still in shock at what he had heard between Hayley and Caroline unable to believe that Caroline would go to this extreme to get him back. He recalled Hayley's "Now that I know she is a vampire I know what extent she will go to get you back".

He shook his head and looked at Hope and wondered _'how could he have been so blind not to see the obsession Caroline had on him? How could he be so blind to even think that party was in his and Hayley's honor. How can any women in Caroline's position be friendly towards her ex-finance and his wife and arrange a party for them.l_ He walked to Hope when he heard Hayley's panicked voice "Klaus".

He looked at Hope still busy with her doll and said "stay. I will be back" and headed out of the room.

Hayley was saying "oh god no. I hope not" when she sensed Klaus next to her.

She opened the front door and said in a panicked voice "tell me I have not triggered my gene because of that bitch."

Klaus looked at Caroline's unconscious body and walked to her. He bend to check her saying "no you have not. She is a vampire. You cannot trigger your gene by killing a vampire."

He thought for a moment and then asked "what happened?"

Hayley took a sigh of relief and said "she pushed me into. It was about time she took a major hint. Some people dont listen to logic. Take care of her. What if someone sees her dead or unconscious or whatever she is right now."

As she turned to go inside she turned back to Klaus and said "tell me you were not planning on going out with her?"

Klaus looked at her and said "no why?"

Hayley said grinding her teeth "I knew she was lying but just wanted to confirm."

Klaus held her arm and realized that she was shaking. He asked trying to find out what she was feeling right now "what happened Hayley? Why have you broken her neck and how come you are so calm about it?"

Hayley pried her arm free from his grasp and said angrily "I lost my temper. I could only tolerate her nonsense for so much and _I am not calm about this whole damn thing_. Why dont you tell her what you really want from her or from me and get it over with. You have to decide Klaus either _her or me!_"

Klaus grabbed her arm again pulling her towards him and said "are you serious? that is not even an option."

Hayley said calming a bit down "then tell her that Klaus because next time it will be her heart now that I am over my inhibition about fixing her."

Klaus looked back at Caroline and said "listen I will handle her. You dont worry about her."

As Hayley went inside and he swooped Caroline up he realized that Hayley hasn't told him about how Caroline had planned to turn him into a hybrid. He wondered _'why didnt she tell him that?' _as he carried unconscious Caroline to his car and buckled her in the passenger seat.

Hayley entered the master bedroom, looked at Hope and asked"hey sweetie, what are you doing?

Hope said "coloring."

Hayley looked at her hand and saw that they were shaking now so she said "I will be back" and went to the bathroom.

She stood in front of mirror in bathroom wondering should she tell Klaus about what Caroline had been planning to do with him but then she decided against it thinking it might hurt him.

Thirty minutes later, Klaus was sitting in his car looking out into the bayou thinking about the extreme length Caroline was willing to go to get him back and successfully managed to destroy his life further, risking the possibility of him ever having more kids. He glanced at her sitting on the passenger seat still unconscious. He then remembered the role Finn had played to sire him and his anger at Finn multiplied. As he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration he heard her moan.

He looked at her as she opened her eyes.

Caroline looked around and asked "where are we?" and then remembered what happened. She sat up straight and said angrily "Hayley snapped my neck! I try to be nice to her and this is what she does."

Klaus stared at her in disbelief and for the first time seeing her fiddle with facts snapped him and he said "and might I ask what did you do to _provoke _that?"

Caroline said after a moment of frustration "why would you think that I provoked her?"

Klaus couldnt help but laugh and then turned to her angrily and shouted "how could you do this to me Caroline? You say that you love me and look what you have done! I wouldnt want this for my enemy and you wanted this for someone whom you love!"

Caroline said leaning back a bit at the angrily outburst "I wanted this for you because I love you Klaus. I cannot see you with that tra…." but Klaus raised his hand said coldly "stop, stop it right now. I will not hear anything about Hayley anymore. I have given you many benefits of doubt Now I want you gone and forget about me and I would prefer that you do it yourself or else I will find a way for you to forget about me. I will never be yours. I love Hayley and I will always love it but I am grateful to you that you made me realize how much I care about Hayley."

Caroline looked at him and said pleading now, tears gleaming in her eyes "Klaus please. We are immortals, she is mortal. She will die eventually. Why do you want to spend your life with her?"

Klaus closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself down and then said "yes she is mortal and I will love her till the last day of her life."

Caroline said with tears falling down her cheek "Klaus…"

but Klaus said "leave Caroline. You have already put us through a lot and she never said anything about you until Mystic Falls. Even then I gave you benefit of doubt but hearing it from my own ears is just mind boggling. What happened to that sweet girl who spend the whole night with her friend when her parents died?"

When she didn't say anything he continued "I wish I could remember you with that memory instead of what I have witnessed. Now please leave and never come to New Orleans again."

Caroline looked at him one last time, wiped her cheek and then got out of car and whooshed out of there.

He sat there for a few moments having mixed feelings of calm and depression as he stared at the spot where Caroline was standing a few moments ago. He wondered why he was feeling sad and then realized that because even though Caroline has lost her ways, she and he had a great past and those memories have just been tarnished. He started his car and headed towards home but then he turned his car towards French Quarter. He got out of the car in anger and walked towards the compound for the first time in his life. He yelled "Finn."

A moment later Finn walked out to the courtyard. Klaus walked to him and punched him hard on his face causing him to stumble a few steps and said "that is for listening to Caroline and turning me to a hybrid and this…." he punched him hard again saying "is for giving my daughter blood with the risk that she could die with vampire blood in her system."

As he stepped back catching his breath while Finn glared at him angry he saw Amber appear from one of many rooms and hurried towards him. She asked "Klaus what happened?" and then looked at Finn.

Finn looked at Klaus and said in a cold voice 'first of all I had no idea why Caroline wanted me to use you for my experiment until I moved to New Orleans. Secondly as for your daughter, that was the risk I was wiling to take. At least she would have lived."

Klaus barked "not as a child vampire you jerk and what if you couldn't get Elena's blood or for that matter your own child's!"

As soon as the last words came of his mouth he saw Finn face contorting in anger and he had hit a sour spot but right now he didn't care.

Finn took one step close to him and hissed "you should be grateful to me. She was not going to coming out of that comma if I had not done that."

Klaus shouted "I know why you did it. You want me in your debt that you saved _my daughter_ but _that will never happen Finn."_

He was about to turn when he saw Marcel come in and say "Finn…"

Finn looked at Marcel steaming in anger and barked "what?"

Marcel said "someone killed Sophie Deveruax."

Klaus stopped in his track and looked at Finn who hissed "who?"

Marcel said "looks like a witches work. She died of blood loss."

When Finn headed towards the exit Klaus couldnt help it but follow him asking "what are you going to do?"

Finn said with annoyance without stopping "going to find out who killed her."

He took out his cell and dialed Hayley's number and said "I will be late" and disconnected.

When Klaus got home it was around 3 in the morning and he was really tired. He cursed Finn and Caroline for putting him in the middle of this kind of life as he got under the covers after changing his clothes causing Hayley to stir in her sleep and ask "what happened?"

Klaus turned to her and wrapped his arm around her saying "Hayley someone killed Sophie Deveraux. I spend half the night chasing after those damn witches and making sure Finn does not kill any innocents."

Hayley asked in shock "what?!"

Klaus said in frustration"yes we were unable to find anything. Any way it is their headache. This is such a frustration I cannot even report it because it is supernatural business. I am tired."

She hesitated for a moment and asked "and Caroline?"

He didn't say anything for a moment and then he kissed her furiously and said "I am sorry Hayley for not doing this before. I have put you through so much torture. I cannot believe that she would go to his extreme."

Hayley stared into his eyes and realized that he knew what Caroline had done.

She asked "you heard us?"

Klaus nodded and pulled her tighter towards him kissing her forehead and said "I am so sorry Hayley. Because of me you had to go through so much. I should have listened to you before. It is amazing that I am a detective and didnt see what was right in front of me."

Hayley said wrapping her arms around him "it is okay Klaus. You had no idea and it is natural that you will believe her if I dont tell you anytihng."

He smiled as he felt a kiss on his chest and closed his eyes. Soon they both feel asleep putting Caroline out of their mind for good.

He groaned at the sound of bell ringing and the first thought that crossed his mind was it might be Finn but then he shook his head considering it was still too early. He shifted causing Hayley to stir in her sleep. He picked up his cell from the side table with his right hand while his left hand was still wrapped around Hayley and said in a groggy voice "hello."

And then sighed as he heard Elijah saying "Kol, Rebekah and me are coming at 7 tonight. Just wanted to let you know. Rebekah and I will be staying over the weekend. Just wanted to let you know."

Klaus said "right. Now let me sleep" and dropped the phone on the side table.

As he turned back to her she asked eyes still closed "who was it?"

He wrapped his arm around her again and keeping his eyes closed told her about Elijah's plan. She smiled and fell back to sleep again until they were woken up by Hope knocking on their door.

They had laid back morning during which they prepared room for Rebekah, Kol and Elijah and Klaus spent some quality time with Hope. Around noon he was playing with her in the yard when he sensed as if someone was watching them. He looked around but couldn't see anyone in sight but his sixth sense told him that Finn was here a moment ago. The thought that he was watching them unnerved him and he took Hope inside.

Hayley was putting Hope's toys in the toy box when she heard Hope asking Klaus "when is Uncle Elijah coming?"

Klaus said "His plane lands at 7 which is your sleeping time. You can meet them in the morning. okay?"

Hope said adamantly "but I want to meet him today."

Klaus said "well if you want to stay up late to meet him then sure why not. Can you stay up late?"

Hope said excitedly "yes."

Around 6:45 Hayley asked as she put pasta in the boiling water "Hope are you sure you want to stay up?"

Hope said "yes" as she sat down on the sofa and hugged her doll.

Hayley looked at Klaus and said "just wait 10 minutes. She will go to sleep. Just wait and see."

Klaus smiled and went to his room saying "I think I should get ready for the airport."

He came out of his room after 5 minutes in changed shirt and with shoes in his hand.

Hayley looked at Hope sitting on the living room sofa with her head drooping on her chest and eyes almost shut and smiled. She nudged Klaus who was putting on his shoes to leave for the airport.

Klaus looked up and smiled as he followed her gaze. He walked to her and slightly shook Hope and asked "are you sure you want to stay up?"

Hope said in a sleepy voice "no daddy I want to sleep."

Klaus laughed as he picked her up and carried her to her room. He laid her down, pulled the blanket over her, kissed her forehead and left after turning on the nightlight.

Hayley was setting down the table when she heard the sound of door opening and Rebekah's voice "hey we are here."

She looked up feeling conscious about meeting Kol even though she has met him before. Rebekah hugged her tight and said "hey you look great. Are you sure you had cancer?"

Hayley laughed and said "of course I am sure. And thank you fro the compliment. Whole of Mikaelson family needs glasses you know."

Rebekah laughed and said "no we dont. No one in our family has ever gotten glasses."

Hayley looked at Elijah and smiled saying "hello Elijah. How are you?"

Elijah said "busy but great. Rebekah is right. You look great."

He looked around and asked "Hope gone to sleep."

Hayley laughed and said "has Klaus told you how much she wanted to stay awake?"

Elijah nodded and looked at Klaus leaning against the soft.

Hayley turned to Kol and said "hello Kol. How was the flight?"

Kol smiled and said "good. How are you Hayley? I have to agree with my siblings. you look great. If I had not known I would never have guessed you are a recovering cancer patient."

Hayley's eyes went to Klaus and asked "have you coached them ?"

Klaus laughed and said "of course not love. You doubt a Mikealson?"

Hayley smiled and said "why dont you show them their room and then we can have dinner. They must be tired."

She was putting pasta in the dish when she felt his arms go around her waist. She said "Klaus you siblings are here. Behave" as his lips found the weak spot on her neck.

Klaus whispered "well I am not doing anything wrong. Am I?"

Hayley jumped out of her skin as she heard Rebekah say "Am I going to be seeing this a lot over the weekend?"

Klaus stepped back laughing whereas Rebekah smiled at the embarrassed look on Hayley's face and asked "so what is for dinner?"

Hayley passed her the pasta dish and said to Klaus "get the salad from the fridge. And then can you go and check on Hope please?"

Klaus put the salad on the table and went to check on Hope while Hayley continued to set the table with Rebekah's help.

After dinner they sat in the living room having coffee and talking. The ice between her and Kol melted in no time to her relief. She looked at amused expression on Rebekah face as Klaus settled down close to her putting his arm around her shoulder and smile on Elijah's face gave her relief that he had put that incident behind him but the biggest relief was seeing Klaus acting normal seeing her and Elijah's interaction. At last after an hour she started to feel tired. Klaus felt her stir next to him but before he could say anything Kol said "Hayley why dont you rest. In fact we should all turn ourselves in. We can catch up in the morning."

Klaus said "yes lets sleep. I have a day off day after too so we have plenty of time."

They all retreated to their room. As soon as her head hit the pillow she went to sleep not even sensing him pulling her close to him after he got into the bed.

Next morning they had a wonderful breakfast during which Kol and Hope reacquainted and Rebekah gave Hope an Elsa doll whereas Elijah gave her a lego set and Kol gave her Anna doll. After that Kol, Elijah and Klaus left to show Kol the office whereas Rebekah and Hayley headed to mall with Hope. She gathered from her and Rebekah's conversation that Esther had still not changed her mind about her but she was willing to talk about Hope which was a positive development in her mind.

In the afternoon during dinner Klaus announced that Kol will be staying with them until he settles down in the office and gets a place for himself. Hayley noticed that Kol was hesitant about this suggestion and knew it was because of her but then he agreed.

Elijah and Rebekah left early Monday morning whereas Kol stayed back settled into a room next to Hope's. For Hayley and Klaus it was a great sight to see him bond with Hope. It amazed them how she had warmed up to Kol in no time and before they knew it a week went by during which both Hayley and Klaus realized the advantage of having Kol in the home; they could go out on a date while leaving Kol to babysit Hope or use as a driver after her radiotherapy. The only concern they both had was if Kol discovered the blood bag Klaus was hiding at the back of the freezer so Klaus tapped it under the ice maker where he hoped no one will look. Klaus also brought Kol up to speed about the supernatural community including the original family of vampire in New Orleans after discussing it with Elijah.

For the next few days things went great. Klaus and Hayley took a sigh of relief when he didnt get any calls from Finn during those days. In spite of Finn not contacting him Klaus had this nagging feeling that he was watching him especially when he was just alone with Hope. He thought of talking to him about it and then decided against it thinking why stir the hornets nest.

Wednesday morning around afternoon Hayley and Hope were playing a board game when the bell rang. Hayley laughed and said to Hope "it is my turn. Don't cheat. I will be back." as she walked to the front door. She opened the door and after recovering from initial shock she asked "Amber! what are you doing here?"

She said "I wanted to talk to you."

Hayley looked back and after remembering that she was a human said "okay you can come in."

After she came in Hayley led her to the living room and said "what do you need from me?"

Amber looked at Hope and said "I wanted to talk to you about my baby."

Hayley looked at her in confusion and asked "what? about your baby? why?"

She said "A while back I found out that Finn wants to make our baby a hybrid making machine. He tried to assure me by his own way" he rolled her eyes and continued "but I am not convinced. As I dont know anyone having a supernatural baby so I figured I will talk to you about it. You have a child with Klaus. I am sure he does not want to use his child for his personal agenda."

Hayley looked at Amber's distressed face and sighed and said "why dont you sit and tell me exactly what happened?"

She then turned to Hope and said "baby why dont you go and play in your room. Mommy had to talk to her friend about some big people stuff."

Hope looked at Amber curiously and then left.

Amber said "o wow she is very obedient" and then realizing that Hayley was not smiling she took a deep breath after sitting down on the sofa and said "I was attached by someone a few days ago who proved that my baby's blood can be used to make hybrids. When Jacob, Finn's brother confronted Finn about it, Finn got so angry that he bit him. Can you imagine that monster bit his own brother? He said that he had no idea but I dont trust him. I thought he will use our child to make hybrid so when I called him on his bluff, to prove that I was wrong he ordered the kill on the wolves in the bayou. What?" as she noticed Hayley's sitting up and asking "what? when?"

Amber continued "a few days ago but I didn't want him to commit murder in the name of my child. Already I am going through hell dealing with his supernatural side so I asked Jacob to help those wolves which he did but Finn is really angry now and I am scared. Our child is supernatural apparently. She has healing ability, has witch powers from Finn's mother side and with my luck I am sure she will be have a werewolf gene. Talk about normal pregnancy issues. I want to talk to someone about these kind of things but there is no one. He has locked me in the home. I managed to sneak out today to meet you. Klaus is a hybrid too, how do you cope with him."

Hayley said "well one thing Klaus is not a psychopath murderer" as soon as the words were out she realized that was not comforting Amber so she said "sorry i shouldnt have said that. Klaus was not always a hybrid Amber. Finn turned him last month. He triggered his werewolf gene a few months ago so it is not like as if he knew this world. Before triggering his gene his life was like yours I imagine before you got sucked into this world. Listen as much as I hate Finn for what he did to Klaus, I feel sorry for both of you and I think you two are in this together and even if you want to get out of it you cannot. This child will always remain a bond between you two. You need to trust him. Talk to him about your fears. Klaus thinks that he cares about this baby."

Amber asked in frustration "if he does then why does not he show that care?"

Hayley sighed and said "some people don't Amber but that does not mean that they don't care about you."

Amber asked "arent you scared that Klaus can harm your daughter?"

Klaus opened the front door and entered the house thinking about spending some quality time with Hope when he heard someone saying "aren't you scared that Klaus can harm your daughter?"

He wondered '_what was Amber doing here?' _as he recognized her voice. He took a step cautiously towards the living room when he heard Hayley said "First of all you have to remember it is not just your child Amber, it is his too and honestly I was for a moment _when he turned hybrid but not before that_ but then I saw him with her and I knew that he would die before hurting Hope. How can you think that father of your child wants to harm your child? You said yourself that he had no idea that his child can be used to make hybrids so why are you still doubting him? I suggest you start thinking of this child as his too and you will realize that he does not want to hurt his child."

Amber said "You dont know Finn Hayley. He is a monster. I have seen him in the past 4 months and he is just a monster. I am surprised that Klaus is working with Finn because the two times I have met him he does not seem the kind."

Klaus stayed there listening to them and smiled as Hayley said angrily "because Finn wants to ruin our lives. If it were up to Klaus, he wouldnt go near him."

Amber was about to say something when Hope screamed "daddy" and ran to him.

Klaus picked her up as she jumped into his arms and smiled and then looked at Amber.

Amber looked at Klaus smiling down at Hope and suddenly felt a heaviness in her heart and said "I should be leaving" and left before Hayley could say anything.

Klaus walked to Hayley and kissed her and asked "why was she here?"

But before she could answer his phone rang. He picked it up as he put Hope down and then after listening to the other side he said "right" angrily and put the cell down.

Klaus looked at Hayley and said "Hayley I have to go."

Hayley said "you just got home Klaus. Who is it? Is it work?"

Klaus said "no it is Finn, Hayley. He wants me to find Amber and I cannot help but listen to him. Damn it" and left ignoring her "Klaus no…"

As he stepped out he saw Amber sitting on the steps. He asked her "what happened?"

Amber said "I am not going back."

Klaus sighed and said "listen Finn just called. He wants me to bring you back. Somehow he knows that you are here. He is livid with anger. Yo have to go back before he does something regrettable."

Amber said "I am not going back to that prison Klaus."

Klaus said "I am sorry Amber. You dont have choice in this."

Amber looked at him angrily and said "you cannot force me."

They both turned towards the door as it opened and Hayley stepped out.

Hayley opened the door with the full intention of stopping him from listening to Finn this time but stopped as she saw him holding Amber's arm.

She walked to him cautiously and asked "Klaus what are you doing?"

Klaus looked at Hayley and said desperately "you know I cannot resist it."

Hayley said "but you did once with Hope. You can do it again."

Amber looked at him in confusion and said pleading now "let me go Klaus."

Klaus looked at Hayley and before she could say anything the whooshed out of their with Amber.

Hayley called him a couple of times but he didnt attend his call so she put Hope in bed around 7 and went to sit in the living room. Around 8 Kol came home looking very tired. Kol wanted to wait for Klaus for dinner but when Hayley told him that he was held up at work both of them had dinner and then he retreated to his room after helping her clean up in the kitchen. She also retreated to her room after checking up on Hope. She change her clothes and was about to get into bed when he entered the room.

She asked angrily "where were you and what have you done with Amber?"

He said in a slurry voice as he went to his side of the bed and sat down "he killed the vampires who were guarding her Hayley but he didnt harm her as far as I know. He was so angry but … I couldn't do anything and just stood there while he stood proudly in the middle of courtyard with those dead vampires and you should have seen Amber. She is so scared of him and damn it I cannot even get drunk now" and fell on the bed.

She walked to him and sat next to him as he slumbered on the bed saying "I cannot do this anymore. I am a detective and have been seeing murders right and left. I have to look over so many things. Sophie Deveraux died and I couldnt do anything about it and now these vampire but still he is committing murders and I cannot do this. This is not right. This is not who I am."

Hayley asked confused "what do you mean Klaus?"

Be she realized that he had fallen asleep. She sighed, got up, took off his shoes and put a blanket on him and went to lie next to him. After thirty minutes she managed to get some sleep only to be woken up by him kissing her neck. She could feel urgency in his kisses and need to gain control on her. She realized that he was trying to gain control on himself. She moaned as his lips sucked on her neck and panted fully aroused now "Klaus" as his hands grabbed her pelvis over her pajamas and gently squeezed it.

He said "please Hayley dont say anything about yesterday. Let me forget about it."

Hayley sighed and kissed him saying "we will get through it Klaus. You cannot give up that easily. What did you once tell me? the bigger picture. Just focus on that" and moaned loudly as his lips moved to her torso as he took off her shirt.

He muttered against her navel "I know but it is easier said then done Hayley."

Hayley took off his shirt and said "I know Klaus. I wish I could help you in any other way other then just being there for you. This is the only thing I can do."

Klaus looked at her and smiled and sneak his hand in her pajamas and pulled it down while Hayley helped herself to his.

Next time when she woke up, it was still dark. She saw him sitting next to her dressed. She asked him "hey you okay? why are you dressed? It is still early" as she sat down pulling the duvet on her naked shoulder. He looked at her, smiled helplessly and ideally pulled the duvet down exposing her breast and said "yes I am. I got called in. Some officer related shooting. You look beautiful."

Hayley laughed feeling relieved that he had forgotten about last night at least for a short while and tired to cover herself but he pulled her towards him and kissed her hard on her lips while cupping his face and said "I love you Hayley."

She leaned back and said "I love you too" as she fixed his tie.

He leaned her back brushed his fingers on her breast ideally and said "this is a lovely sight but unfortunately I have to leave."

He gently brushed his lips on her scar sending a chill through her body and left the room.

The week went by in a frenzy. He was busy at work trying to solve that officer related shooting while Hayley took upon herself to go to her radiotherapy as he had gotten busy with the case. Even though he was really busy at work he made it a point to call Dr Dole to keep himself informed of the progress she was making. She would leave Hope with Kol who was great help to her. On Wednesday she noticed some reddening on her skin and sighed as she reminded herself that it was a potential side affect of radiotherapy so why is she surprised. She visited Eve a couple of times during this time and spend a lot of quality time with Kol. Sometimes looking at how close he had gotten Hope, it was hard for her to believe that he had only been there two weeks ago. Rebekah was calling her almost every day. Like Kol and Hope's growing relationship hers and Rebekah's was also growing. For the first time in her life she felt what it meant to have a sister who cares about you. She was also starting to realize the importance of a big family that Klaus has and often looking at Kol and Hope chatting and laughing she would start thinking of having more kids only to get depressed at the thought that she might never be able to have more kids with Klaus being a hybrid and all. At those times she would just shake her head and chide herself for thinking along those lines.

Saturday morning Klaus said to Hayley "how about you give Hope something to eat and let's have brunch around 11 at Cheese cake factory? We can have something light right now"

Before Hayley could say anything Hope jumped into his lap to Kol's amusement and said "yes yes daddy. Lets go."

Klaus smiled kissed her and put the coffee on the pot and turned to Kol and said "in the mean time we can discuss that case of yours. I was thinking of getting Elijah's input on it too."

He turned to Hayley and said "we have to discuss this case in the study and you need to eat something. I talked to Dr Dole yesterday and she is concerned about your weight and so am I. "

Hayley said impulsively "aww that is so sweet" making Kol choke on water he was drinking as he started to laugh.

She suddenly felt flustered at the look Kol give her.

Klaus gave Kol a dirty look and said in the same tone "Hayley I am serious if you dont eat anything proper I will feed you myself."

Kol turned to pour coffee in the cups to hide the smile as she snapped _"okay fine!"_

He turned and handed Klaus his cup of coffee and followed him to the study giving Hayley a very wide grin.

As Klaus turned the door of study he turned to Kol and asked seeing the grin on his face "what?"

Kol said still grinning "nothing. Just like the way you two are together. If mothers sees how happy you two are she will accept Hayley in no time you know that right? Why dont you invite her here?"

Klaus sat down behind the desk and opened the file saying "after her treatment is over. I dont want her to go through another Mystic Falls experience. Last time it was bad."

Kol nodded and took the seat as he took out his cell and dialed Elijah's number

Soon they were on conference call with Elijah while Hayley got herself and Hope ready.

She kept Hope busy with games and Tv while they were discussing the case. At last the study door opened after an hour and she heard Klaus say to Kol "you have thirty minutes. I am starving."

While Kol went to his room to change whereas Klaus went to the living room. He looked at Hayley and smiled saying "oh good you guys are ready. I just have to put on shoes and voila we are ready."

As he settled down on the sofa next to Hope and Hayley as they were doing puzzle his cell rang. He picked it up as he read Marcel's name on the caller ID and said "hello."

Marcel said "you wanted to break the curse. I found something. Sabine a witch in the New Orleans witches coven was the one who put curse on Crescent wolves. I will tell you the details later but right now you should get to her before Jacob Manning. She tried to kill Amber and has taken Finn and Juliet, their sister hostage."

Klaus looked at Hayley and asked "are they okay?"

Marcel said "we are looking for Finn and Juliet but Amber is fine. You have a very small window Klaus."

Klaus said to Hayley "lets go."

Hayley asked "what? where?"

Klaus said "I will tell you on the way. _Kol!_" shouting at the end of sentence.

Hayley started explaining to Hope what was going on while Klaus told Kol "can't do the brunch. We have to go out for something urgent. You have to take care of Hope. Don't leave her unattended even for a minute Kol. She is your responsibility."

He then said to Hayley "hey lets go" and headed out.

Half an hour later Klaus traced Sabine in the cemetery but before Klaus could do anything Sabine raised her hand and started muttering making Hayley double over with pain in her stomach and Klaus bleeding through the nose. Klaus chanced her a glance and whooshed to Sabine ignoring the bleeding nose of his and grabbed her by her throat lifting her in the air but Hayley straightened and said "no stop Klaus. Sabine I just need a way to break this curse."

Sabine looked at her and said "I know why you want to break the curse Andrea Labanoir but nothing good will come out of breaking this curse."

Klaus said wiping the blood "if you dont break it I will turn you before you jump to a new body."

Sabine said "okay I will do it but you have to wait till the full moon to use it."

Hayley said "I can do that. You just make the potion now."

Hayley kept on glancing at Klaus nervously as Sabine made the potion and when she handed it to Hayley in the end they both spun towards the voice saying "I hope you have not deceived them like you have deceived me Celeste."

Klaus asked "Jacob, what are you doing here?"

Jacob looked at him for a minute without saying anything and then said "well I am here to take care of some business and I suggest that whatever you two are up to you should not let my brother know about it. He does not exactly like to be stabbed in the back."

Hayley took one step towards him angrily but Klaus held her arm and said "I heard that he had gotten himself in some trouble."

Jacob looked at him and then without saying anything to him he turned to Sabine and before anyone could respond he whooshed out of there.

While driving back from work he got a call from Finn to his annoyance who demanded his presence in the compound.

He dropped Hayley home and headed towards the French Quarter. Twenty minutes later he was standing in the parlor of compound. Finn looked up from the glass of Bourbon he was drinking and said to him "I hear that you are working on breaking the cruse on Crescent pack."

When Klaus didn't answer he said "nothing good will come out of breaking that curse Klaus but I will not interfere because I know the meaning of putting curse on someone."

Klaus looked at curiously wondering _'what did he mean?'_ but didnt say anything.

At last Finn said "I am going to Mystic Falls. I want you to guard Amber till tomorrow until I come back. Make sure she does not run away."

Klaus smirked and said "if you think I will spend every free minute I get in protecting a woman _you are supposed_ to protect considering she is carrying your child then you are wrong. "

Finn said carelessly now walking out of the parlor to the courtyard "I have other important things to do and I cannot spend all my time in the compound."

Klaus followed him and asked in annoyance "you really dont care about her at all?!"

Finn turned and looked at him with murderous expression but didnt say anything. He said angrily "you cannot keep me under your thumb Finn. I will break this sire bond."

Finn got up angrily and said "you should be grateful that you dont have to turn anymore. I had to go through transformation two times in my life and I wouldn't do it again for the life of me."

Klaus said with contempt "well I would prefer turning to being your lackey."

Finn looked at him angrily, said "your home is the one next to Amber. That one." He pointed to one direction. Klaus followed his gaze and saw Amber standing in the corridor looking down at them. From the look on her face he knew she had heard everything and was upset about it. he felt bad for her and looked at Finn and caught him looking at her too. He looked back at Amber and then heard a whoosh sound telling him that Finn had gone. Klaus sighed, took out his cell and called Hayley and said "Hayley Finn has asked me to guard Amber. I will come home tomorrow."

Hayley exclaimed "what Klaus?!"

Klaus sighed and said "I cannot wait to break this sire bond." He looked up ideally and saw Amber walking back into her room.

While he laid on the bed late that night he wondered '_is he sired to Finn because he feels grateful to him that he does not have to turn on full moon anymore?' _

As the thought crossed his mind he answered himself _'But that is ridiculous. He would take turning to wolf anytime then being his lackey. Wouldn't he?'_

He wondered_ if it is possible to break the sire bond if he is not grateful to Finn anymore?_

He thought about how this sire bond was affecting his life, his job and made a mental note of calling in sick to Ben next morning.

Thinking about random things he went to sleep.

While he was torturing himself with these thoughts Hayley was torturing herself with the same thoughts too. As she laid down on her bed after putting Hope to bed and having dinner with Kol and cleaning up the kitchen she thought about the protection detail excuse she had to tell Kol about why Klaus was not coming home that night and made a mental note of telling Klaus about the excuse the next day.

She spent the next day thinking about how to break the sire bond, how that was starting to affect their lives. It was not hard to notice that Finn was starting to take advantage of that sire bond more now. Klaus called her once to let her know that he was fine and will be back probably by the afternoon. She told him about the excuse so that he knows what Kol was talking about if that topic comes in the conversation.

When it turned 7 pm and still he didnt return she started to get anxious. She said to Kol "do you want to wait for Klaus for dinner or …"

Kol said "no lets wait. I am not hungry right now but you should eat probably."

Hayley smiled in spite of feeling like crying and said "I am fine. Thanks. We can wait for an hour and then we will eat. He called earlier today and said he will be back tonight. In the meantime I will put Hope to bed."

As she was changing Hope, she asked "where is daddy?"

Hayley said "he is held up at work Hope. Catching some bad guy."  
>Hope said "I miss him" as she laid her down.<p>

She looked up at a sound and saw Kol standing at the door and said to Hope "me too."

She picked up the book and started to read while Kol fell on the carpet and buried his head in his own book. She turned the page thinking about Klaus and where he was and why has he not called her yet when Hope suddenly said with excitement "daddy!"


	26. Chapter 26 Fight for control part 2

**_Synopsis: Klaus and Hayley continue to struggle to handle this sire bond. Hayley breaks the curse and Klaus manages to break the sire bond._**

* * *

><p>Klaus walked to her, kissed her to Kol's amusement who still has not gotten used to seeing his brother married and with child. He watched as his brother bend down to kiss Hope and say "I am sorry love, I got stuck with something <em>really boring.<em>"

He took the book from Hayley's hand and settled down next to Hope and continued reading it for Hope.

Hayley kept glancing at him and realized how tired and frustrated he look. She said "let me set the dinner."

Kol got up too saying "let me help you" and followed her out whereas Klaus continued to read the book.

She looked up from setting the table as he walked in and asked "you okay?"

Klaus nodded and settled down for dinner.

After dinner Kol asked Klaus "Hey how was protection detail?"

Klaus remembered what Hayley had told him about and said "okay boring as they are."

Kol said "I need your take on a case if you are up for it."

Klaus nodded and headed to the study with Kol retreated to the study whereas Hayley went to living room and put on the tv. Her eyes were fixed on the tv but her mind was still lost thinking about the sire bond and Klaus and Finn.

After two hours she got up and went to her room.

She wrapped his arm around him as he got under the cover and asked "tell me what happened?" in a groggy voice.

He turned to her and said "I think I have figured out how this sire bond between him and me works."

Hayley asked now opening her eyes "how?"

When he was done telling her his theory she asked him "how are you going to break it then?"

Klaus caressed her face saying "I have to figure out how to stop being grateful to him about no transforming every full moon."

Hayley held his hand on her cheek and said with relief "Oh God at last some good news. We have the potion to break the curse and soon we will find out how to break this sire bond."

Klaus looked into her eyes and said in impulse "hey I was thinking may be we should go on our honeymoon this weekend. It is a long weekend and I can call Rebekah. She and Kol can babysit Hope.

Hayley nodded and then closed her eyes after kissing me and they both feel asleep.

During the ride to the station next day Klaus called Rebekah and told her about his plan. After he was done Rebekah said "yayy at last the honeymoon. I have been asking Hayley about it and she had been making poor excuses. I am glad _you thought_ about it. I can come for that any day."

* * *

><p>Friday night Hayley looked around at the honeymoon suite and asked "this is simple?!"<p>

Klaus said "yes" smiling as he fell on the bed and said "oh god. A weekend without Finn or the mayhem. Just you." He pulled her towards him making her fall on him and said "this is going to be fun" as he teased her by sneaking his fingers under her shirt.

Hayley smiled and said "First turn off your cell so that he does not call us."

Klaus said "good point but right now I…" but Hayley said "let me unpack first and then you can have me."

She got up from over him laughing as he said "you are no fun." and started unpacking their bag while Klaus took his shoes off and sat on the bed and switched on the tv. After she was done unpacking she walked to him and asked "what are you watching?" as she settled down next to him.

He put his arm around her and said "nothing just browsing."

Hayley looked at him and said "you look tired."

Klaus said "if you mean that I am too tired to do this" sneaking his hand under her shirt and continued saying "then you are far off Mrs Mikaelson."

Hayley laughed and said "in that case I will be back in a minute."

Klaus said "come on Hayley. You are torturing your husband."

Hayley said "I am coming. Wait."

She looked at herself in the mirror, smoothed the nightie over her flat stomach, touched her breast wondering _'what will his reaction be seeing the red skin' _and walked out. Klaus said "if you are not interested then we can…" he stopped talking as he looked at her and said "hmm I am way off about you not being interested."

Hayley smiled and walked to him saying "too much?"

Klaus got up and walked to her saying "of course not. You look exquisite and after all we are on our honeymoon."

He held her hand and twirled her scanning her in that black lace backless nightie reaching up to her ankles revealing her naked legs, torso, bra and underwear.

Hayley said "listen I wanted to tell you about the redding of my breast skin because of radiotherapy."

Klaus said "we knew it might happen."

Hayley said "yes but I wanted you to know before you actually see it."

Klaus asked "does it hurt?" as his hands went to her breast and gently touched it.

She shook her head touching his face.

Klaus smiled and said "then we dont have any issue" scanned her from head to toe again and asked "how long do you want to stay in this?"

Hayley took a sigh of relief laughed and said "that depends on you."

Klaus brought his lips close to her lips and said "well in that case not long but considering you went through all this trouble to get me excited, I will make this purchase worth the buy."

Hayley squirmed as she felt his hand move to her pelvis and touched it while his lips got locked with her lips. She felt his tongue part her lips while his fingers played with her pelvis over her underwear. She sucked on his lips and enjoyed his fingers but then felt the ground leave her feet and a moment later she felt her back on the bed. He continued to explore her mouth as his hands caressed her breast. Hayley moaned loudly as she returned his passionate kisses and grabbed his hips, pushed them to her as his hands squeezed her breast. She felt his need against her thighs and wrapped her left leg around his right leg. He at last broke the contact with her lips and caressed her slender body from breast to her thighs over her nightie and then generally rolled them over so that she was on top of him with his arms around her, hands roaming on her naked back and lips moving down her jawline to her neck while Hayley hand moved up and caressed his face and twined her fingers in his hair. She felt his hands dragging her nightie up slowly while his lips sucked on her neck and eventually he took it off leaving her just in her underwear. Hayley grabbed the edge of his shirt and pulled it off and enjoyed the contact of his naked torso against her naked torso. He kissed her slender shoulders pressing her body close to his and rolled them over again and helped her take his pants off as her hands went to his pajama. He slipped her underwear off caressing her legs. Hayley shivered under his touch and grabbed on to the pillow as his lips left trails of kisses from her thigh to her feet. As he reached back to her pelvis she grabbed her head and made him look at her and said "please."

As he started to the drawer she said "no, don't. You dont need to."

Klaus asked "are you sure?"

Hayley cupped his face and said "yes I am. It is safe."

Klaus parted her legs with his hands and while keeping eye contact he took her. He looked at her face, caressed her cheek, removed the strands of hair from her temple and kissed her.

Hayley gently grabbed him from his back and kissed him. Soon they were in perfect rhythm looking at each other, kissing, caressing and then Klaus said "i love you Hayley" and buried his lips in her neck and continued rocking against her as she kissed his shoulder and when they both climaxed at the same time she pants "I love you too." He looked up panting and grabbed her thigh and kissed her again.

He stayed there and continued to kiss her and then partially slid off of her and buried his face into her neck resting his head on her shoulder and with half of his body still on pinning her down he murmured "I am so glad we made this trip."

Hayley brought him close to him wrapping her arms around him and whispered while kissing his forehead "me too."

Klaus's fingers touched her shoulder and asked "cold?"

Hayley said "hmm" as she closed her eyes and then smiled as she felt the duvet being pulled over them. She smiled as his fingers toyed with her naked breast whereas he smiled as her fingers ideally caressed his back and they went to sleep in that position.

Hayley was deep in sleep when she suddenly felt soft lips on her breast. She slowly opened her eyes enjoying the feeling and said "I like this better then alarm you know."

Klaus smiled as he lifted himself on his hands and said "me too" and cradled her head, kissed her lips slightly biting the bottom lip while his left hand squeezed her right breast gently and then the moved his lips to her neck, down to her breast, swirled her breast with tongue making Hayley moan loudly and grab on to sheets as they went down and ended just short of her pelvis. He looked at her passion filled face and then continued kissing down to her feet. As he pulled himself to her face leave she said "my turn".

Klaus looked at her in confusion and then smiled as she rolled them over so that she was on top of him. She started kissing him like he was doing to her and for the first time he understood what she felt when he would pleasure her. As she kissed his navel he grabbed her form her shoulder, made her look at him and cupped her face and pulled himself up in a sitting position and wrapped her legs around his torso. He wrapped his arms around her back and positioned her and while kissing her he took her slowly making her moan. As they rocked against each other tiny drops of sweat started appearing on their bodies but they kept on rocking against each other while his lips kissing her shoulder and her lips kissing his shoulder. She suddenly yelled softly as he sped up and hit the most inner part of her. Klaus asked "you okay?"

Hayley panted "yes" as her hands tightened her grip around his torso and continue to move against him and bit her shoulder when he went in frenzy and then stilled as he came on just after her. He kept his face buried in her neck while she continued to hold him. For some reason he looked so vulnerable at that moment that she wanted to absorb all of his worries.

For the next two days they enjoyed room service, watching movies, making love and relaxing in general.

By the time they headed back home they felt totally unwound. As they entered the house, Hope came running to her jumping up and down saying "mommy, Kol uncle and Bekah aunty let me play on iPad."

Hayley laughed and picked her up saying "wow that must have been fun."

She lunged at Klaus and asked "what did you bring for me?"

Hayley's eyes widened with shock when Rebekah chipped in "a sibling perhaps."

Klaus and Hayley both said "Rebekah!" as he put Hope down.

Rebekah asked innocently "what?! you were on your honeymoon after all."

Hayley looked at her and said now turning red "oh god stop. She can understand now."

Rebekah said enjoying embarrassing her "well my niece deserves siblings. _And I want_ to have another niece or nephew too. This one is growing up too fast" as she tickled Hope making her giggle.

Hayley looked at Klaus and said "well sorry to disappoint you. No news until I am cleared of this damn radiotherapy."

Rebekah said sounding disappointed "really?! why?"

Klaus said trying to sound casual even though his heart was racing as his mind asked _'what if she cannot because of you being a hybrid?'_ "Hayley cannot conceive during her treatment without risking the baby's health and we dont want to take the chance but once she is done then definitely."

Rebekah looked at Hayley and saw the smile falter from her face just for a second but then she recovered and said "so what did you guys do behind us?"

Rebekah felt her heart go for her and said "well Kol and I have discovered that never ever leave a child unattended with ketchup."

Hayley laughed and said "oh I should have warned you about that."

They turned towards the door when they heard Kol say "thanks for doing that by the way. By the way Nik, Finn Manning came for you a couple of times."

Klaus looked at Hayley and said "welcome to real world."

Hayley laughed and said "I will be back" and headed to her room.

She went to the bathroom and closed the door and stood facing the mirror as she pulled her shirt up and touched her stomach and sighed wondering _'will she ever get pregnant with Klaus being a hybrid and what if her cancer comes back, does she want to put another child through what Hope had gone through. What if she dies? what will happen to the kids?'_

She startled as the door open and Klaus entered the bathroom. She let her shirt go and said "I was just.."

He walked to her and grabbed her hand and said "I know what you are thinking and I am sorry that you have to go through that because of me. Hayley I wish I could…"

She smiled and brought his hand to her lips and said "we can get through this as long as we are together right?"

Klaus kissed her hands and said "yes."

They spend the next two hours with Rebekah and Kol chatting about random stuff after putting Hope to bed.

Before they fell asleep that night Hayley asked him "have you said farewell to Rebekah? She will be leaving tomorrow afternoon."

Klaus said "yes I have."

Next morning as Klaus was leaving for the station he said to Hayley "hey I will be late today."

He went to the kitchen and took out the blood bag from the freezer and quickly took a gulp down, when he sensed her.

Hayley looked around making sure Kol was nowhere in sight and said "listen I have been thinking about Amber. She was really worried when she came to visit me. Do you suppose I should talk to her?"

Klaus said "no I dont want you to get too much attach to anything related to Finn. It is enough that he has gotten me to do his biddings" as he put the blood bag back and then drank a glass of water to mask the smell of the blood, kissed her and left for work.

Hayley stood there staring at the spot he was standing and then decided to talk to Amber. She turned around as she heard Hope say "mommy I want oatmeal today."

Hayley smiled and said "come."

As she was making oatmeal Rebekah came in and they started talking about things from her trip to what was happening back home about Esther, her studies and didnt realize an hour went by. Hayley looked towards Kol who had just opened the freezer to get something and wondered _'should they removed the blood bag from there? What if Kol finds out about it?' _

She startled as Rebekah asked "hey why didnt you go to your radiotherapy today?"

Hayley said "Dr Dole is on vacation for two days and she wants to be there for my treatment."

Rebekah asked "how are you feeling?"

Hayley said "generally okay but sometimes I get tired."

Kol put his coffee cup in the sink and said "Bekah I will come to pick you up at 1. Be ready. I will be late Hayley" and left.

Rebekah said as soon as Kol left "I think I should start packing. I have to leave at 2 pm."

Hayley said "lets go. I will give you company."

For the next hour Hayley laid on Rebekah's bed listening to her talking about her plans to for rest of the summer.

She hugged her tight before leaving for the airport and promised to call every day and left.

Hayley stood there at the door looking at Rebekah leave and then came inside and took out her cell and dialed Marcel's cell. As the call connected she asked him "do you have Amber's number?"

Marcel said "yes I do. Why do you need it?"

Hayley said "just wanted to talk to her."

Marcel said after a moment of pause "504-234-1243. And Hayley you remember full moon is in almost two weeks?"

Hayley said "yes thanks for the reminder Marcel. Please don't let Finn find out about what I am about to do."

She debated for a moment and then called Amber's number. As soon as the call connected she said "hello. this is Hayley Amber."

Amber asked "where did you get this number from?"

Hayley said "Marcel. Listen I wanted to ask you how you are doing. You have to understand that Klaus had no choice. "

Amber said "I know. I know about the sire bond now. I feel bad for him but then again it is a good thing Finn spends so much time with him."

Hayley asked "how so?"

Amber said "Klaus is a good man Hayley. Spending time with him and seeing him with your daughter can have some influence on Finn. He has started to show some concern about the baby. I think it is because of Klaus and Hope's relationship."

Hayley said "really! I cannot believe it but if he is doing that then good."

Hayley hesitated and then asked "do you want to meet?"

Amber said "I cannot Hayley. Finn does not let me out of sight. Last time when I tried, he killed those vampires. I dont want anyone to die for me. Why don't you come to the compound?"

Hayley looked at Hope who walked to her and said "I cannot Amber. I cannot bring Hope to the compound. Listen I have to go. If ever you want to talk about something you can call me."

Amber said "I will and thanks for calling."

After putting the cell down she felt really calm and for some reason satisfied.

While Hayley was talking to Amber, Alexis and Klaus were questioning a perp in the investigation room.

Klaus closed the door of the investigation room behind him and said smiling "good job partner."

Alexis said "good to have you back. You have been so moody for the past few weeks. This vacation must have been really good."

Klaus laughed and headed towards the the squad room.

As he entered the squad room Ben said "Klaus I want to see you in my office."

* * *

><p>For the next week Hayley noticed that Klaus was spending too much time in French Quarter and then she found out that he was not going to station too. She waited for him to talk to her about why he was not going to work but he never brought it up to her increasing frustration. On Thursday night she had had enough of this secret so she asked "where were you?" when Klaus entered the bedroom at 12 in the morning.<p>

Klaus said "Finn has been asking me to do stuff for him."

Hayley said "what stuff Klaus? at the cost of your job Klaus."

When he looked at her she said "Alexis's called day before yesterday asking me how you are feeling now. Imagine my surprise that you are sick and I dont even know about it."

Klaus said "Finn wants me to be guard Amber. He has managed to convince Ben that I need a week off. I dont know how he did that."

Hayley stared at him as he lied down casually.

She asked "what? and you are okay with it?"

Klaus said "Hayley I am tired. I had a really long day. Can we talk about it in the morning?"

Hayley said in a raised voice now "no, we are not going to talk about it in the morning. I gave you time to talk to me about it but you didnt. I can see that you are not even trying Klaus. What happened? Are you liking it now?"

Klaus got up whooshed to her and grabbed her by her arm, shook her violently and asked angrily "you think I like to be in his control?"

Hayley stared at suddenly turned yellow eyes, veins appearing under his eyes and said trying to keep her voice calm as fear gripped her heart "seems like it."

Klaus suddenly realized that there were tears in her eyes. He saw terror on her face, the kind of terror that he had thought was left behind, way behind. His gaze went to his hands on her arm and he let her go while running his fingers through his hair. Hayley walked to him and put her hand on his back to soothe him but he turned towards her and said "leave me Hayley…" and stopped talking as his gaze went to her arm from where he was holding her and saw finger prints. He held her arm and asked in shock "oh God Hayley, did I do that?"

Hayley looked at her arm and said "yes but I am fine."

Klaus stared at her and then stormed out of the bedroom while she stood there feeling frustrated at what was happening between them.

When she woke up he was gone. She stayed in the bed holding her head wondering how to solve this new issue. At last she got up, changed and went to Hope's room to check on her but luckily she was still asleep. As she entered the kitchen she saw Kol making coffee.

Kol turned towards her and asked "hey you okay? You are looking very pale."

Hayley said "yeah I couldn't sleep last night. When did Klaus leave?"

Kol said taking a sip from his coffee "I dont know. I woke up and he was gone. You want me to stay with Hope today if you are not feeling well."

Hayley said "no. I am fine. I missed my appointment too. That means he left before that."

Kol said "maybe" and left for work too.

She didnt get any call from him all day and knew he was still upset about what happened between them last night so at last she dialed his number but he didnt pick it up. She wondered if he is ignoring her or busy. She decided to give him benefit of doubt that he might be busy and got busy with her work.

Around noon, she got a call on the cell. She smiled as she thought it was Klaus but when she saw Alexis name on the caller Id her heart sank and she said "hello" preparing herself for the worst.

She stood up slowly as she heard Alexis confused voice "Hayley what happened?"

Hayley asked in confusion "what do you mean?"

Alexis continued in the same tone "Klaus resigned! But why?"

Hayley said alarmed now "what? when? I don't know. He left early in the morning. He didnt tell me…" and then she remembered him talking about not being able to do the job a few days ago. She said "I have been trying to get a hold of him since morning. Where is he?"

There was a pause during which Hayley felt as if the earth has stopped spinning around its axis and then she heard her say "he never came to the station Hayley."

Hayley said "what?!" having a sinking feeling in her stomach.

She said "Alexis I will call you back."

And went to her room. She looked around and then headed to Hope's room said "Hope sweetie come."

Thirty minutes later she entered the compound steaming in anger and shouted "Finn you son of a bitch where are you?"

Amber was sitting in her room thinking of Finn's behavior towards her when she heard Hayley's voice. She walked out and saw her standing in the courtyard with Hope. She walked down hastily at the same time saw Finn leaving her room.

Hayley asked "where is he?"

Amber looked at Hayley in confusion but Finn answered "I dont know. Your husband? have you lost him?"

Hayley walked to him and slapped him on his face and said "if I find out that you have something to do with it, I will kill you myself."

As she turned to leave he held her arm and asked grinding his teeth "what happened?"

Hayley said in the same tone joined by panic now "he is missing. That is what happened! He never went to the station and never called me."

Finn stared at her and realized that she was panicking now and said "I will find out what is going on but in the mean time…." his gaze went to Hope clinging to Hayley's legs and continued "you are scaring your child. Get a grip on yourself."

Hayley looked at Hope and realized that he was right whereas Amber said "Finn, show some compassion and if you have something… " but stopped talking as Finn turned to her with murderous glance.

Hayley suddenly felt drained of energy as the worst thoughts started to come to her mind and she felt dizzy but before she fell down Finn was holding her arm to prevent her from falling. She hissed "let go of me. I dont need you help. If you want to do anything find out where my husband is."

Amber walked to her and said "listen why don't you sit. I am sure he is fine. He will call you and you will see it is okay."

Hayley looked at Finn with contempt and then at Amber and left.

By next morning she was in full panic mode so Kol called Elijah and told him about everything that had happened. Elijah took the redeye and came to New Orleans. Kol wanted to involve the department but Elijah and Hayley put their foot down saying "they should wait for at least one more day" as they both knew the risk of someone finding out about him.

Two days after he disappeared Hayley put Hope in bed and came out to living room and said "I am calling Alexis in the morning Elijah."

Elijah nodded but before he could say anything else he noticed something pass over her face and she ran to the kitchen leaving him bewildered. He followed her and saw her standing in front of freezer.

She opened the freezer and after a while said "it is gone."

Elijah asked "what Hayley?"

Hayley said panicking again "the blood bag Elijah. It is gone. Klaus left on his own but why?" her heart sank and she wondered if it was because of their fight but then answered herself he wouldnt leave just because of that argument.

Elijah looked at her and said "no Niklaus wouldnt abandon his family Hayley. May be he removed it and put it somewhere incase Kol not find out."

Kol who had followed them to the kitchen looked at them in confusion and asked "what?"

Hayley said "no he wouldnt. Kol has been with us for two weeks now Elijah and I know it was right there. We had a row over Finn. You dont suppose he will leave because of that right?"

Elijah said "no Hayley. What do you meant you had a row about Finn?"

Hayley said exasperated now "the sire bond. Klaus was not trying to break it."

Elijah said "may be he has gone to break it Hayley."

Hayley said desperately "no he would have told me if he had gone for that. He left us Elijah."

She went to her room whereas Kol said to Elijah rather aggressively "you tell me right now what is going on Elijah _and_ everything. I know by now that you guys are hiding something from me. Why have you not called police yet? He is your brother for god sake."

Elijah took a deep breath and then except the real relationship between Hope and Klaus he told Kol everything including who Klaus was now, who Hayley is, about the curse on her pack. By the time he ended telling him everything he was proud of the way how Kol took everything in stride.

During the next few days she tried to cope with things. To her surprise Amber visited her a few times and glad that Finn never contacted her for anything. She was surprised to find out from Amber that he was looking into Klaus's disappearance. Elijah, Kol and her had come to an agreement about not involving Klaus now that they all were on the same page. They had told Alexis what they were suspecting and she had promised that she will look into it without letting anyone know.

Rebekah had come to visit in light of everything going on which was a relief to Hayley because her radiotherapy was still going on and she needed someone to drive her home after that because she was getting weaker and weaker by the day. At first she was annoyed at her siblings for not filing a report but then Elijah convinced her that they have hired a private investigator to look into it and that Alexis was looking into it. Elijah left with Rebekah as she has college with the promise that he will come back next week. Even with Kol being with her at all times, Hayley felt like she was losing her mind with each passing day. She often wondered what would have happened if Hope were not there to keep mind occupied. Hope asked about Klaus a lot so Hayley told her that he was on some course.

One day she was looking through walking closet when she saw the potion and she remembered the full moon over the weekend. Seeing the potion and remembering what she wanted to do for her pack somehow lifted her spirit and she started to look forward to full moon.

On full moon she went with Kol to the bayou and helped her pack break the curse. The satisfaction she felt when the curse broke on the full moon made up for some of the heart ache she had been feeling for the past one and half week. Before she knew another went by and he never called her or attended her calls. Night time were difficult. She could feel his hands and lips all over her body and his soothing voice calming her down, reassuring her of their safe future but he was not there and she had no idea where he was.

Five days later after breaking the curse on her pack, she decided to visit them. After changing Hope, she went to change too. As she came out of her room, she heard the bell ring on the front door. Wondering who could it be she went to open the door.

Hayley opened the door and asked "who are you?"

The man smiled and said "I am here to meet detective Mikaleson."

Hayley asked him "what do you need from him?"

Then man said "an old score to settle."

Hayley felt weird but before she could say anything she heard her cell ring. She said "excuse me" and picked up her cell.

As she picked up the cell Alexis said "Hayley an asshole whom Klaus and I put in jail got out today on a technicality. He is in a very vindictive mood. Ben wanted me to let you know. We will get you some protection detail. Just be careful. His name is…."

Hayley looked back at the man smiling at her and said to Alexis cutting her off in the mid sentence "you should come."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, the man snatched the phone from her hand and threw it on the floor.

At the same moment Hope entered the living room asking "mommy can I watch TV?"

Hayley felt a drop in her stomach as she saw his eyes dart to Hope. She said "Hope go to your room."

He took a step towards Hope but Hayley said "no" and pushed him back. the man grabbed her arm and pushed her on the carpet. She saw Hope run towards her room and tripped the man with her leg as he headed towards him.

She could hear Alexis voice form the cell phone which was apparently still connected "Hayley hold on, I am coming."

The man gave her a murderous look and said "doesn't matter. Let me take care of you first."

He grabbed Hayley from her hair as she stood up and pushed her on the sofa. He fell on her and held her hand as she tried to scratch him in his eyes and took the other hand to her jeans buttons.

As she felt his hand on her jean button, she panicked as images started to play in her mind and she grabbed the lamp and smashed on his head as the door opened at that instance and Alexis ran in. She darted to Hayley and asked "hey you okay?"

Hayley got up, pulled her shirt down and panted "have I killed him? as she saw the blood.

Alexis looked at her and then bend on the man and after a moment said "yes Hayley, I am sorry but he is dead. It was self defense."

She turned to Hayley just in time to see her run in bathroom.

Alexis went after her and saw her throwing up and said "hey you are shaking! come sit." She took off of her jacket and put on Hayley and said soothingly "it is normal. It was self defense Hayley. You are fine."

Hayley looked at Alexis in trance and the words came out "I triggered my gene Alexis."

Alexis thought that she didnt hear her right and asked "what?"

Hayley said "I triggered my gene. Oh god. Where is Klaus?"

Alexis said after a moment of silence and in a firm tone "hey control yourself. Police will be coming in a minute. You cannot keep on babbling about it. I will call someone for you. Whom do you want me to call?"

Hayley said desperately "Klaus"

She looked at him and said exasperated "Hayley!"

Hayley said desperately "Kol then."

Alexis took her cell from her and dialed Kol's number.

She suddenly remembered Hope and gasped "Hope!"

She ran towards her room and saw her hiding under the bed crying softly. She crouched down and pulled her out and hugged her tight.

She was sitting on her bed when she heard Kol's panicked voice "Hayley!" and a moment later he appeared at Hope's bedroom door.

He walked to her and asked "hey you okay?"

She shook her head, rocking Hope against her and the tears started to fall.

He hugged both of them and said "listen everything will be okay. You stay here. I will handle this."

As he walked out Hayley suddenly felt too overwhelmed of having someone who was there for her and was taking care of things.

After half an hour Kol walked in again and knelt near her saying "Hayley you are fine. Elijah is on the way."

Hayley looked at him with blurry eyes and before she could stop herself words were out "Kol I triggered my gene."

Kol held her hand and said soothing her "I know. It is okay. The curse is broken. You are fine."

Later that night Elijah arrived. She felt as if it was all a movie playing around her. Alexis had just come after settling Hope down in her bed and was trying to talk to her but Hayley was still in daze and for the first time she really got mad a Klaus for not being there for her and Hope when they needed him. She looked at Elijah and Kol who were standing in the corner whispering to each other.

Elijah looked at her as he was talking to Kol and smiled encouragingly but her face was all blank and then he saw her get up abruptly and say "I cannot live here now."

Elijah walked to her and said "Hayley!" but Hayley said adamantly "no I cannot. Elijah I am a wolf now. I will turn every full moon. Klaus is not here to help me with my transformation. I dont know where he is and when and if he will come back or not. I cannot live in his house infinitely."

Elijah said fiercely "this is your house Hayley. You are his wife. You are a Mikaelson. NIklaus put this house in your name and you know it. You deserve to live in it and he will come back. He will never abandon his family Hayley."

Hayley shook her head and said "I cannot. I cannot" and went to her room leaving Alexis, Kol and Elijah looking at each other helplessly.

After putting her and Hope's stuff in a bag, she sat on his side of the bed and stared into the empty space thinking about the mess her life has suddenly gotten. She patted his pillow in depression and was getting up when she noticed a white piece of paper caught in between the bed and the side table. She took it out and started reading it.

_"__Hayley, I am leaving. I cannot face you after last night. You dont know but I was about to hit you last night.I dont know what will happen if I lose control again. I cannot stay in the same town as Finn until I break this sire bond. I will come back after I break this damn sire bond. I love you and Hope. _

_Klaus"_

She stared at the words confirming Elijah's suspicion. She read the note again and then said to herself _"so he has gone to break the sire bone! But when will he come back? How long will it take for him to break the sire bond. what if it takes years? Should she stay here but how can she, she is a wolf now. She should be near someone who understands what she is and what best place to go other then bayou." _At last she folded the note, feeling a bit better that he had not abandoned them. She put it in his drawer and fell on the bed. She woke up early in the morning, packed her remaining stuff and with resolve left her room.

She moved to the bayou with Eve that day not listening to a thing Elijah or Kol said and not telling them about the note thinking that it wouldnt make a difference to her resolve. As the days went by she started to lose hope that he will come back. Every day she fell asleep crying thinking about him and where he was and then after a few days she deliberately stopped thinking about Klaus to avoid the heartache she would get whenever she thought about him. Hope asked her about Klaus at lot to which she had no answer to so after a few days she stopped asking about him. A week after she moved there, she got a visitor who took her by surprise. She looked at him coldly and said "I dont want to talk to you Finn. Get the hell away from me."

She turned and left him standing there not noticing that he was looking at Hope.

She continued to have her radiotherapy unsure if her being a wolf will cure her cancer or not. but did notice that redness on her skin after those session was healing now. So one day she contacted Marcel and asked him "My burns are healing up and someone will notice sooner or later so what should Ido?"

Marcel said "I will take care of it. Dont worry."

Next day when she was leaving the hospital when she saw Finn geting in his car. She walked to him and asked angrily"what are you doing here?"

He said coldly "nothing. Came to meet someone."

Next day when the nurse didnt show any reaction to her cured skin an image of Finn getting in the car flashed through her mind and she wondered '_did he compel the nurse?'_

And then she remembered him curing Hope too and she smiled and felt something for him for the fist time of ever knowing him immediately replaced by the though that it was him that drove Klaus away from her. She cursed herself for thinking about him and went to her car to go back to Hope in the bayou.

On a sunny day a month later as she was waiting for Kol to come pick up Hope, she looked at Hope smiling and playing with other kids in the bayou and felt satisfied and confident that she will be able to make a good life for herself and Hope as she recalled what she had been through since Klaus had left. She thought of first painful transformation, Rebekah and Elijah visiting New Orleans couple of times and visiting her in the bayou trying to convince her to come back home, when Rebekah had told her that Esther had at last started to warm up to Hope and she realized that she didnt care any more because the person for whom she wanted to patch up the relationship with Esther was gone from her life. She had tried to alienate herself and Hope from Mikealson as they were constant reminder of Klaus but she realized that Mikaelson were very adamant when it came to family. She smiled as she recalled Elijah "always and forever." She remembered Elijah's optimism when she told him about the note Klaus had left for them. She thought of times she had talked to Amber and her telling that Finn was still looking for Klaus which would soften her heart for him for a few moments but then she would harden it again after reminding herself what she has lost because of him. She looked around to shake Klaus's memory out of her mind and smiled as she saw Kol coming towards her and Hope running in his arms like all the visits of him to the bayou. He picked her up and asks "ready for the outing munchkin?"

Hayley said "yes she is all ready. Don't be late Kol. Last time you guys came very late."

Kol said mischievously "well how could I resist this angelic face begging me for half an hour."

Hayley said "you guys are incorrigible you know. You are spoiling her rotten" and headed towards huts whereas Kol took Hope to his car.

* * *

><p>As he entered the house Rebekah looked at him and shouted "where the hell were you? We called you so many times."<p>

Klaus looked at Rebekah and said "what happened Rebekah? I left a note for Hayley telling her that … " he stopped as he realized Rebekah didnt know anything about him being a hybrid. He looked around and couldnt sense or smell her so he asked "where is she? Where is Hope?"

Rebekah said with annoyance "she is at her radiotherapy and Hope is with Eve."

Klaus asked in confusion "why with Eve?"

Rebekah said in the same tone "because you ass she thought you left them and after she triggered her gene she moved with her pack. I asked you where were you?"

Klaus stared at her and asked "she triggered her gene?! when? How? What happened to the curse on her pack?"

Before Rebekah could answer he heard Kol say "two weeks after you left Nik. She was attacked at the house by some guy you and Alexis had put behind the bars but he got away on some technicality. It was self-defense. As for the curse she broke it."

Klaus said hastily "I am going to the hospital" and ran out.

Even though she was healed from the burn on the skin she was feeling really drained after the radiotherapy session so the doctor had asked her to rest for a while before leaving for home. She thought about calling Rebekah to pick her up from the hospital as she realized that she wouldnt be able to drive back to the bayou. She closed her eyes and thought of Hope and wondered what she must be doing with Eve. She started thinking of Klaus and where he would be right now. She wondered would she forgive him if he comes back right now and realized that she would and that just broke her heart. Suddenly she felt lonely and for the first time after their marriage she cursed Klaus for coming into her life and said bitterly to herself "go to hell Klaus. I should never have believed in you" and turned to one side with tears getting absorbed in the pillow. She startled as she felt finger tips on her cheeks and some one holding her hand. At first she thought she was imagining it but then those fingers lingered on and she opened her eyes knowing well to whom those hands belonged to.

He lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed it and said "I promised I will not leave you in sickness and health. I went to get myself unsired and you thought I left you!"

She snatched her hand from his hand, wiped her tears but they continued to fall. She said angrily "you left Klaus. You left and I didnt know when you will come back. What would I have thought under those circumstances?"

Klaus looked at her tear stained face and said "I am sorry Hayley. I should have called but there was no phone service available in Appalachians. How could you think that I will leave you Hayley."

Hayley said "I will never forgive you for what you have put me and Hope through this last month Klaus."

Klaus held her hand again and said "yes you will because you love me and I love you. I still cannot believe that you thought I left you! Do you not remember how many obstacles our relationship has survived Hayley? Haven't I proven you that I love you and care about you? How many times do I have to tell you for you to believe me?"

Hayley looked into his sincere eyes and at last gave him a weepy smile and said "one more time."

He laughed and said "I love you" as he leaned in and kissed her lips gently.

She said "we have so much to talk about."

Klaus said "Yes we do. you have no idea how much I wanted to get back to you but I couldn't come back to you until I got myself unsired."

Hayley lifted herself up in the sitting position with his help and asked "and have you?"

Klaus said smiling broadly "I am here, aren't I?"

Hayley asked "how?"

Klaus said "by turning wolf again and again until it was not painful anymore and now I have nothing to be grateful to Finn about."

Hayley asked "you mean to tell me that you broke your bones multiple times to turn to a wolf? That must have been painful!"

Klaus said caressing her fingers "you have no idea but anything for you and Hope."

Hayley kissed him and said "you broke the sire bond and I broke the curse but I am a wolf now. What will happen now?"

Klaus said "And I am so proud of you for doing that. Every thing will be okay as long as we are together in this."

He leaned in and kissed her and said "now that I am back and never intend to make this blunder again you need to come back to me."

When she didn't answer he said "or I will move to bayou."

Hayley laughed and said "you can never spend a night in the bayou."

Klaus asked smiling "are you challenging me?"

Hayley looked at his smiling face and said "oh God I missed you so much. I am so happy you are back."

Klaus said "me too. Lets go get Hope and head home."

Hayley nodded and got off the bed.

Thirty minutes later Klaus parked the car in the bayou and got out with her.

He held her hand and walked towards some kids playing at a distance and spotted her. He said "Hope."

Hope looked around and spotted Klaus standing with Hayley.

A smile broke her lips and she ran to him excitedly saying "daddy" and jumped into his arms. Klaus lifted her in the air sending her in fits of giggles and then brought her close to him, hugged her tight and then wrapped his left arm around Hayley and brought all of them in a a group hug and asked "ready to go home?"

Hope said excitedly "yes."

Twenty minutes later Hayley packed up her and Hope's stuff and they were heading back to their house.

The End

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><p><strong><em>AN: Thank you for reading this story and leaving wonderful reviews. :) _**

**_I am also going ot be changing my pen name to AltUniverse_**


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